


The light of Messiah

by Joker0991



Category: Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 16
Words: 85,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22301674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joker0991/pseuds/Joker0991
Summary: When the velvet room is compromised and all too familiar enemy is reigning, the proprietor will need the help of the Messiah. So the trickster journey will include more surprises than before. Will it be the last surprise for the phantom thieves? Who can tell? (I accidentally deleted the story, sorry!)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 89





	1. The journey once again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the inconvenience. I kinda sorta made a mistake and deleted the whole works. I will re upload all the 15 chapters. Again, sorry for the inconvenience.

2010

The whole school was devoid of students as the graduation ceremony is held in the auditorium. Students were chatting among themselves without a care for their surrounding. Among them, a girl with pink sweater was looking towards the empty seat besides her.

'I wonder where is he?' Yukari Takeba thought to herself.

''What's up, Yuka-tan?" asked a capped boy from beside her.

"Uh, do you know where he is, Junpei?"

"Him? Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him since we got to school, but don't worry yuka-tan, maybe he's just fall asleep on the way."

"I hope you're right. I hope so…" is what Yukari said but in the back of her mind she couldn't help but think that she's forgetting something, something important.

Then suddenly, all the students got quiet as a red-haired student took the podium.

x-x

On the hallway, a lone student is walking, more like limping, actually. His posture is crouched and he seems to be breathing heavily. His blue hair covered half of his face that only one of his eyes is visible. His skin is ghostly pale and his silver-grey eyes look dead as he kept walking towards his destination, the roof.

As he reached there, to his surprise he saw a girl waiting for him. A blonde haired girl with beautiful blue eyes who has headphones-like things on her head.

"Aigis", that's her name, a name not of a machine, a name not of a robot but the name of his dear friend.

The girl heard his voice and suddenly turned towards him.

"…Makoto-san…."

After a moment of staring, they started to walk towards each other with the girl smiling, but on the way the boy couldn't keep up and fell down towards the floor. But instead of meeting the ground, he fell onto the hands of that girl.

"Welcome back, Makoto-san." as he heared that, the boy let a small smile graced upon his lips.

x-x

The boy is laying down now in the lap of the girl as they sat upon a bench.

"The breeze feels nice, doesn't it?" The girl said but he couldn't hear her anymore.

"-" her lips are moving but what's she saying? He couldn't hear anything. He couldn't hear anything no more. His eyelids felt heavy and he wanted to close them but he couldn't. No, at least not until the promised time.

But, even though he kept powering on, he's near his limit. But he kept insisting as he knew…No, he's sure that if he closed his eyes now, they would never open again.

"Makoto-kun!"

A voice.

"Yuki-kun!"

"Yuki!"

"Hey!"

No, not just a voice.

"Look, they all keep their promises." The blonde girl said gently.

He used all the power he had just to crane his head and looked towards at the the door. And finally the door opened and emerged his friends, his precious friends. They all came, even Ken and Koromaru. Everyone remembered their promises and came to the rooftop.

'But….' But he couldn't stay and talk with them. As his eyes finally close with a gentle smile on his face.

"Li-v-e"

Yes, this was the scene he saw before he's gone from this world. This was the scene Makoto Yuki saw before he sleeps forever.

-x-x-

20XX

'How many years has that been?' The boy thought to himself.

The place he is in now is an empty space filled with white with only a chair shaped like a harp which he is sitting on as he reminiscenced about his final day on a little planet called the Earth. In this place there is no way to know the time and time itself has no place here.

And, If you are asking where he is now, he is at the sea of souls acting as a barrier between two primordial gods. A barrier which he gave his soul to craft. A barrier he crafted to protect his loved ones at the cost of his own life. '…And his precious soul.'

But does he regret it. No. He chose this fate of his own will. Even if some gods come and give him a chance to correct his past, he will not change this choice. No matter what he will act as a seal to stop the mankind's manifestation of grief and negative emotion, Erebus from reaching the Nyx, the goddess of Night.

On the two gods, Nyx may be neutral but Erebus sure is not. He is dead set on destroying humanity. His only reason to exist is to make contact with Nyx and bring about the fall. And as he exists because of humanity's grief, until humanity does not exist no more or don't want to die anymore he will keeping reviving and will keeping trying to destroy the seal, which is to say, him.

'Speaking of that furball,' Even now he is regenerating. Now anyone would be scared of being mauled by a two-headed overgrown dog. But not him. For he is the messiah. The man who gave his life for the good of humanity. The sole wielder of universe arcana. As he is also a God with capital G.…But, no those are not the reasons why he's not afraid.

As the Erebus finally finished regenerating, he sat his red eyes on the seal and set to pounce upon the door. But, he didn't even have the chance, as soon as he came alive, he was just as fast destroyed by the purple light that filled the whole place with a loud noise and big explosion.

"~Hello, Makoto-sama~"

The one who said that was Elizabeth. His attendant in his journey and the only one beside Erebus to…make contact with him.

"~Well, nice to see you again~, ~I came to talk to you again~. *Cough* and this time, ~you won't be able to believe what had happened~." Elizabeth said happily in a singsong voice.

She comes here most of the time. First to destroy the Erebus every time when he revived and to talk about what's happening in the outside world. And Everytime she comes, she would talk nonstop about all the thing that happened after he was gone.

"After I killed the Erebus last time, I went to the place called Inaba because I sensed a presence similar to you, Makoto-sama. And when I found that, I learned that he was indeed a wildcard like you."

'A wildcard?…Hmm, I don't think what to think. Should I be concered…or jealous?'

"And he's already finished his journey and now he's facing another treat to mankind."

'…Jealous, it is.'

"So when I went there, you wouldn't believe who I saw." Elizabeth paused for a moment. Probably for dramaric effect. Then adopting a smile, she said "They are your friends. All of whom you took your journey with, even the strength arcana and Aigis-san."

'…Koromaru? Well, that's indeed surprising,' was what he's thinking. But, of course, he can't really say anything back.

There are only two drawbacks to being the seal and one is that he can't interact with outside world. So he can't reply back or smile back or show her that it's annoying when she speak in that singsong voice.…And of course the other drawback is being the seal.

For her, he looks just the same, just crucified to the door with the same look on his face. But even then she doesn't falter.…she never does.

"And that's not even the most surprising!"

Then she opened up her palm and materialized a card. A card he's too familiar with. A card that marked the start of one's Journey.

'…The Fool.'

"Yes, I've gained the fool arcana. And I believe that I'm now more closer than ever to free you from this fate." Elizabeth looked towards him, oh. Actually the door, with a sad smile. "So, please wait a little more now, Makoto-sama, it won't be long until I can see your face again."

'….'

She is trying even now. She left the velvet room for this She left her family for this. This, just to save him from his own choice.

'….'

Will she succeed? It doesn't matter. This is enough, more than enough.

"~BUT, now onto the most surprising matter!~"

'Wait, there's more?'

"It's the food called 'fsteak'. The friend of wildcard said that it is beary delicious and It is indeed as much delicious as the takoyaki from iwatodai. I heard it is short for beef-"

Hum,…well that's Elizabeth. No matter who you are, even if you are a statue stuck in a wall, she is able to make you feel at ease. Even an eternity at sea of souls is not that bad if she is there for you. She is the reason he didn't go insane. If he can record everytime she talks, he would listen to it everyday, every moment...She is the salvation for his damnation. She is the light that shines in this sea of souls. She is the light of Messiah.

x-x

20XX

Even after she started her own journey she still came here to destroy Erebus every time. And after that she would talk to him about her journey and her something, which she dubbed ''Elizabeth's answers for the earth's wonders!"

…which was basically her, telling him every food she ate. If he doesn't know any better, he would think that she's rubbing in his face that she could eat and he couldn't. But he digress

'…Mostly because I'm sure that I don't know any better.'

x-x

20XX

She's still coming even now but this time she brought some news. She said that the wild card that she talked before is fighting or dancing to defeat another treat to humanity.

….

He doesn't really understand what she's talking about and while that was true most of the time, he's really sure that doesn't want to understand this time.

'I mean, dancing? Really? I wonder if he's playing or saving humanity.… And I'm not saying that because I also like to dance,… No, I don't want to dance at all.'

….

'Not. At. All.'

x-x

20XX

Today was the same for the Messiah. As he barred the Erebus from reaching the Nyx. But this time something was amiss. Although when he became the seal, being attacked by the two-headed dog is given, that's not supposed to happen.

'…Elizabeth is not here.'

'Is she occupied somewhere? Is she too busy on her journey? Or is she in danger?' Those thoughts went through his head as Erebus kept attacking the seal without rest.

'Did something happen to her? …No, it's Elizabeth. She can one shot even Erebus. No one or nothing can harm her, Yes, nothing to worry about.

….

...I'm worried.'

x-x

20XX

He didn't know how long but he knew it's long. Erebus did not even stop for one second. He kept attacking and attacking and attacking and Oh My God he growled… but then attacked the same. It does not hurt but It is starting to get annoying.

Elizabeth is still missing. He hopes she's fine. Although she can one shot Erebus she is still not a god. She can be killed, destroyed. Even he could.

….

Or he couldn't…but he could. He has the universe arcana after all. And Like all the people who started their journey, is Elizabeth fighting against a god?

….

There are so many things that could happened But there's nothing he could do to help. The only thing he could do is wait and wait as the Erebus attacks and attacks.

x-x

Nothing. Not a thing. Not even a single thing changed.

Now he was starting to think of ways to search for her. 'Oh, Maybe I could senda telepathic message to Igor and asked for her, uhhh,…No, she left the velvet room. So they will not be able to search for her.'

But, In the first place he doesn't know how to send telepathic message. 'Then, what can I do? What can I...'

As he was thinking, something strange happened. '…Wait, Erebus stopped attacking.'

Then he looked towards the overgrown dog and something that never happened before…happened. A blue butterfly, the same one that he saw when he was at the station or so he thought.

And then all of a sudden Erebus started to disappear. As like he regenerated with red mist, now he is devoured by the blue mist. He didn't even has a chance to growl as he disappeared into emptiness.

….

'Wait. Is he gone for good? Does Elizabeth plan really work? Did she really kill a god? Where is she? Is she here?' Makoto looked around the place.

"Nice to see you again, Makoto Yuki."

'That's not Elizabeth. That's a man's voice.' Makoto looked towards to where the voice was coming from to see a man in a white business suit and a butterfly mask. '…Who?'

"Makoto Yuki, I am Philemon. The master of velvet room."

'…Velvet…room? Wait, isn't Igor the master? Why did I never heard of him before?'

Then the most surprising thing happened. The touched the seal and disintegrated into many blue butterflies and they all came into him…

'…INTO HIM!?' Makoto stood up from the chair in alarm. 'Is he breaching the seal?'

Then they all reconstructed into the man from before in front of him. The only difference is that now he's standing face to face with him.

"Who…who are you?" Makoto asked the strange man in front of him. 'It's Been a long time since he moved his mouth…or was it?'

"I've already told you I am Philemon, the master of velvet room. BUT, if I were to explain further, I would be the god of human consciousness and the power of 'persona' you and other guests of the velvet room used is given by me."

"Then what is Igor?" he asked back being skeptical. 'He can't harm me here, but I wouldn't take the chance.…yet.'

"Let's just say he is created by me to guide you and the others as I cannot interfere with humanity. Directly, that is."

'So, he's the mastermind, Huh…' ,"So what are you doing here? I don't think you come to introduce me to yourself now,…are you?"

"Correct. I came to ask upon your help." The man paused for a moment before continuing. "…The velvet room has been taken by a god called Yaldabaoth", '…don't know who.', "And another guest, such as you, will be in danger if we do not intervene."

"Wait." Minato stopped the man. The after a pause, "The velvet room… taken. Really? Are you sure? With Igor and his battalion of servants?"

"Yes, you must have realize that the one who left the velvet room is not coming here even now.", 'No way, was she there?', "Even she was included when velvet room was taken."

Makoto's calm demeanor faded and he said with what akins to fear in his voice. "So, go and retake your place. What are you doing here chatting up with me?"

"Like I said before, I cannot interfere with such events directly. That's why I came to ask for your help."The man said in his monotone voice with no emotions. Well, he can't tell because of the mask.

Makoto calmed down again. "Well, I like to help you but I can't move from this post without risking the humanity. Why not ask the other wildcard? Yu Narukami, is it?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible. The other wildcard, while capable is not a god. He can't enter the velvet room without the permission… while you as a Messiah and newly acquainted god can, and if you're worried about the seal, don't be.… I can hold the Erebus. But, Not for long."

"…So there's time limit,…well how long then?"

"In your human's terms, a year or so. I hope that will be enough."

"Maybe,… but then what happened after I finish my job?"

"You will have to become the seal again. I'm sorry but this is the thing only you can do."

"I see." Makoto nodded back with his face betraying no emotions. No sadness or no disappointment.

"I know of your bonds on your previous journey but I may suggest not to meet with them. After all you will have to leave them again.…But If you want to meet with them, I won't stop you."

Makoto didn't say anything back to the man's words. 'So, I will have to go to earth as a business trip. At least it could be better than staying here and I still have to save Elizabeth. "…I want to ask a question,… you said that the seal is the thing only I can do. So the thing Elizabeth is doing, is it all for naught?"

"When I said that, I mean for now. As you would also know, even gods don't know what the future holds."

'Hm,… I see.' "Okay then I suppose I will do it." The man nodded and blue light began to emerge around him. "One question before I go." As he said that the man seemed surprised, well, keyword being 'seemed'. "You didn't do a thing even when the fall is coming or the TV world is merging with reality. So why now? why now of all time you decided to take action?"

The man said nothing for a moment and then "I will concede that I didn't do anything before but now there's great danger coming and I must act before it's too late,… but I can't say what the danger is,…it is not my place to say."

'Yeah, he's Igor creator all right. Cryptic messages must run in the family.'

"Now go, you who saved the humanity before. However limited as may be, I give you one year. Now go, without falter. Not as a man but as a god. As a messiah, shower the humanity with your salvation."

The light became stronger and stronger and soon it engulfed him completely.

'*Sigh*'

…. With a flicker of light, Makoto Yukki completely vanished from the great seal.

Now in the sea of souls, the man stood alone. "I can only hope that this will be enough."

x-x

2017(4/1)

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you for waiting, we will be arriving at Shibuya shortly"

-x-x-


	2. Trouble, trouble and oh more troubles

2017(4/1)

"So, this is…Shibuya."

Now that he was here, this looked pretty different from what he imagined before. Sure, there's some high buildings and a bulk of faceless mob walking around.

….

'It is exactly what I imagined.'

Makoto walked through the intersection and to the street. The street was also bustling. 'Are people always this many?' Shops are lined up in each sides. Bookstores, rental, drugs, arcades and even a movie theater. 'Beef bowl, huh, brings back memories'.

'Big bang burger,…never heard of it.…Ah, the first time I eat burger with Mitsuru-senpai, this brings back a lot of nostalgia. The city sure has everything.'

….

Makoto stopped walking in the middle of the street.

'Wait,…what should I be even doing now?'

Now that he thought about it, what did he even normally do? Social links? Coffee? 'Um, I don't think so.'

Makoto checksed around his suit and pants. 'What do I have in person?'

As he himself, he found that his clothes has changed. It's not gekkoukan uniform no more. It's a suit of black and red with a white shirt underneath. 'Classy'. Oh, and a black handbag…

'…did I carry this all the way without knowing.…I'm really a ditz.'

Makoto sat down on a nearby bench and looked into his bag. A phone, some money(nowhere near his savings), his headphones, a certificate and a transferal to shujin academy. 'So, going to school again. Isn't retaking velvet room enough, why do I need to go to school?…Looks like I will be a third year. 'Minato arisato'… huh. At least better than my last name.'

Makoto checked his contents and the bag again and reread the pages to be sure.

'Well, it's late, So I better go home…'

….

"…."

'…Uh oh, I don't think I have a home.…I'm gonna be a hobo, aren't I? Will this money be enough to stay at hotel?' Makoto stood up in hurry and some sort of paper fell down from the bag.

'Hm, what's this? Oh, it's a receipt for delivery in yogen-jaya.' Then he checked back the pocket from where it fell down, to find a key. 'So, that will be my apartment. With certificate and transferal I wonder how did Philemon do this?' Makoto shook his head in annoyance.

'…No point thinking about that. Let's just go to Yogen-jaya.'

x-x

As the door of the train opened, many people went out from the folding dorrs while the others are waiting to get in. Among the people, a blue haired boy with Shujin uniform can be seen going out of the station. With unusual bright blue hair and student uniform, many people started to look at him in surprise but, he didn't pay any attention to them. He just walked out of the station with eyes cold as ice.

Compare to a city like Shibuya, Yogen-jaya looked like a backwater country filled with run down shops and old people. But as like every other country, there's a clinic. From there walked out a delinquent looking woman. Her name is Tae Takemi.

"Another failure, huh, it's really hard to develop a medicine without test subjects" said the woman as she walked out of the clinic. She sighed tiredly. 'I have to do something fast with or without test subjects', the woman thought to herself as she walked into the streets.

She the turned right to go to nearby cafe. She's not a regular or not really that acquainted with the owner but sometimes she went there just to think.

As the woman kept walking while thinking to herself, someone brushed past her. And as she was deep in thought she became unable to handle herself as she slipped and fell sideways but before she could fall down completely, said someone grabbed her hand and stopped her fall.

"…you okay?"

She looked at the speaker and found a guy, but he looked more like a kid with his face and student uniform. He has bright blue hair covering his half of the face. His skin is so pale that if not for the black school uniform, he would be entirely invisible. His silver eyes looked ready to close up any moment and he looked like he's about to faint anytime soon.

"Yeah, I'm alright." Takemi stood up as the boy helped her. "Sorry I wasn't looking ahead."

"Oh, it's okay." Having said that the boy turned around, walking towards his destination holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"What a strange kid." Takemi said to herself as she also turnes back and leaves.

If she stayed there just for a moment, she would've seen the boy turning back and looking at her with his deep silver eyes.

"Death...huh"

x-x

"hehh, so this will be my new home…." The apartment looked a little run down but serviceable. It's not that far from the station but he would have to walk a little.

'…I'm already tired.' Makoto, well now Minato, entered the apartment. He had to wonder if no one living around because it was too quiet. 'Well, no use thinking about it.'

He walked towards the door with the number from the key. He tried to use the key on the door and unsurprisingly it opened. He turned on the lights and nothing greeted him.…There's nothing at all. The floor is with green mat and on the closet there's a futon and in the middle of the room, there is a box and on the far end there's a chair and a desk. Well, there's air conditioner so there's silver lining.

He opened the box and looked inside. There are some clothes and…that's it…'Well, so much for that.' Minato closed back the box. At least he's not gonna be living here that long anyway. He opened the closet and took the futon out when something dropped from it towards the floor.

A gun.

An all too familiar gun with the words S.E.E.S written on it.

He looked at the gun fondly with a smile on his face even though a tear falls down.

"I wonder how they are doing."

x-x

A young boy with frizzy hair can be seen sitting in his room. He is staring at the wall and waiting like a prisoner waiting his sentence. But his situation is not much different from that. Although his sentence has already been decided, he is still waiting for the school where he would have to go to spend a year on probation.

"Hmm, nobody say that being a hero has a chance to be sent to juvenile hall." As he pondered on about what in his life had gone wrong, his father called from downstairs.

"Akira, come down for a moment."

His father sounded sad or angry or both. He didn't know anymore. He walked downstairs and saw that his parents and a man were sitting face to face with each other.

His father looked angry and his mother's eyes were swollen. 'Looks like she's been crying.'

"Kurusu-kun, the school you has to go has been decided."

He looked a little surprised but still nodded and went to sit beside his parents.

"We searched for many schools but the only school that acceptes you is in Tokyo, And so with that said, you will be attending at shujin academy for this year."

'Tokyo, that far? I gonna have to spend the whole year with complete strangers.'

"As we cannot provide you with a place to stay, your parents has their friend for living arrangement and he will also act as your guardian. We are doing background checks but if it goes well you will have to leave next week."

Both his parents looked shock. Looked like they don't know he wouldhave to leave next week. But his father broke the silence by slamming his hand down on the table angrily.

"Next week? Don't you think that's a little too sudden. He got out of his holding just yesterday. And we only have a little time to prepare." His father said angrily.

But the man was unfazed, "I apologize but the headmaster there insisted that he will have to come as soon as possible beacause the term was already bagan and if we don't hurry, he will be late for his study."

His father dud not say anything but everyone could see that he's lying. He just wanted to be done with this and sent him as fast and as far away as possible.

"If you got no more questions then please excuse me." Saying his piece, the man left.

The sound of a door opening and closing can be heard. Nobody said anything for some time and then Akira turned towards and asked his father "So, who is your friend that I'm supposed to live with?" His mother looked uncomfortable at the question but his father answered him.

"A coffee shop owner that I knew of when I lived there." 'Huh?' "We don't have any relatives there and he seems okay so we asked him and we arrived at an manageable arrangement."

"What!? He seems okay!? Don't be ridiculous! You are sending me to a stranger because he seems okay!?" Akira angrily shouted standing up from his chair.

"RIDICULOUS!? What's ridiculous is what you've done? Why did you have to do something stupid?"

"When does helping people become the wrong thing?"

"I'm not saying what you did is wrong. I'm saying what you did is stupid. You're already a grown man, don't you know not to butt in other people's business?"

As they argued with each other, his mother with tears said, "Please, stop. Both of you. There's already more trouble than we can handle. Don't start fighting with each other." As his mother said that, his father settled down. But, he had enough already.

"Fine, just stay there. Maybe the owner will be a better father for me", he spatted that and ran towards his room.

His parents said nothing but they looked hurt. He didn't mean to say it but looked like he lost control. He closed the door angrily and leaned on it.

"Can this be any worse than this?"

x-x

In a place that looked like a prison, a long nosed man is sitting at a chair while listening to something. Then he opened his bloodshot eyes and called for his attendants.

"Justine, Caroline" as soon as he said that two young girls who looked no older than nine came out.

"What's the problem, Master?" the braided girl, Justine, asked.

Her master, Igor(?), said with a grin that stretched across his face, "I need you to do something for me. There's someone you would need to dispose of from the outside world."

Justine looked surprised, but the other girl with two hair buns on her head said, "But, Master, aren't we not supposed to interfere with humans from outside world?."

The old man laughed softly and said, "Do not be alarmed, Caroline. This matter is entirely personal."

x-x

2017(4/2)

A young boy, who was once known at Makoto Yuki but now Minato arisato, is trying to sleep on the train. Luckily he got a seat but there's just too many people on the train. At Iwatodai, he did always sleep on the train and yes, there were also people there, but never this much. This is like staying at a sauna.

"We are arriving at shibuya." The announcer, well,…announced. He never liked the sound, but now it sounded like music to his ears.

"Oh, sorry."

"Oof"

"Hey, who touched me?","Sorry,…didn't mean to."

He fumbled around with difficulty but he finally got out.

Freedom. He was not this happy even when he finally got out the seal. He walked through the gates and without paying much attention to anyone, he went straight to school.

x-x

The school is…alright. It's not as big as his previous school but big enough. He went into the school and tried to find the faculty office.

Keyword being 'tried' as he didn't have any idea where to go.

"Can I help you?" A short girl with amber eyes asked.

….

"…I'm trying to find the faculty office." Minato said back in his usual monotone voice.

"Oh, you must be the transfer student. I'm Makoto Nijima, the student council president." The girl seemed unfazed and replied back with a small smile.

….

The conversation didn't move.

….

She seemed like she's waiting for something.…'Oh, an introduction.'

"I'm Minato Arisato…the transfer student."

She seemed satisfied, '…Really?', "If you're looking for faculty office then please follow me."

'Great, another Mitsuru. I remembered studying all days and nights, getting the top score in the whole school to start a social link with her and ended up teaching her how to eat hamburger…Good times.'

x-x

"Pardon the intrusion." Makoto said as they enter the faculty office.

"Oh, Nijima-san! what can I help you?" A lazy looking teacher with the lazy look asked in a strangely chirper voice.

"I'm looking for Chunno sensei. Is she here?"

"What is it, Makoto-san?" The tanned woman from the back, which he assumed was Chunno-sensei, asked.

"This is Arisato-san. He is the transfer student."

"Oh, you took him here. As expected of a honor student."

"Don't worry, that is my job. Ahem, well then I will take my leave." and she left gracefully.

…. *Slides*

….

"*Sigh* , even though she's already a third year, I'm still not getting used to her." The lazy looking teacher said with now lazy tone.

"Don't say that Kawakami. Her sister can rip you a new one." Chunno sensei said. 'Is there some kind of plot going on?

"Oh arisato-san, don't mind us." 'So there's some kind of plot going on'.

….

She seemed to be waiting. 'For what?'

"Uh, Arisato-san, your papers?

"Oh, I'm sorry…here", Minato took it from his bag and gave it to her.

"Oh, you transferred a lot, hmm…looks like you are in my class, well homeroom's about to start. Come on, come with me." She then started to get out of the room, and he also followed her back without a word.

x-x

"I'm Minato Arisato. Nice to meet you."

As soon as he introduced his name, a lot of murmurs can be heard.

"New student, huh?"

"Isn't he handsome?", "I don't know he seems moody."

"Alright, settles down. Arisato-san, you can sit besides Okumura-kun."

"Yeah." a girl in a pink cardigan with timid looking face said holding her hand up.

Minato nodded and went towards there. It looked like student council president is also here.

'The empress and priestess. Is it a coincidence?…I hope so.'

x-x

The day went past uneventfully. With nothing interesting going on. Even if it is, he wouldn't notice. As he kept thinking what he actually had to do. Philemon wouldn't send him to school if there's nothing going on. Looks like he must investigate the school first.

"Makoto-san?"

"Yes","Yeah?" Although only one name is called, two voices answered back.

All the students were looking at him weirdly. Even the said Makoto and the teacher were looking at him.

….

'…Crap.'

He looked back at the window and acted like nothing happened. That seemed to work as the speaker walked to the said Makoto-san. All the students shrugged and did what they were doing again. 'I can't let my guard down.'

Minato sneaked out without saying anything and that seemed to work but the priestess was burning a hole through his chest with her eyes. But he shrugged and walked out without saying anything.

x-x

He searched the whole school and didn't find anything noteworthy. Although the only thing he did was all from his classroom to the cafeteria. But nothing interesting can be seen on the way. Until now, that is.

He saw a pony-tailed girl with bruise on her face and hands. And if he looked carefully there seem to be some who are in the similar condition. But no one said nothing when he asked. They said that they are injuries from practice. And he didn't probe further and they slipped away uncomfortably.

'Strange.…Not as strange as a transfer student asking around but still…strange.'

x-x

'The entire day wasted and nothing happens. Am I doing something wrong?'

Minati stopped at the entrance and saw a girl lifting a bag from the ground to the cart. And as he looked closely he found that it's the girl with a pink cardigan from the class. '…Okumura…I think.' Thinking that he walked over to her.

"…Can I help?"

"Ah, Arisato-san. Umm, Yes, a little help might be nice." The girl said back smiling gratefully.

Then they lifted all the bags and put it on the cart.…Well, he lifted all the bags and put it on the cart.

"Thank you, Arisato-san. It's really a great help."

Minato just shrugged and nodded in affirmative.

"Haru!"

"…I'm sorry?"

"My name. It's Haru Okumura."

"…Minato Arisato, but you already knew it."

"Thank you, again." The girl said with a slight smile with a light blush and pushed the cart away.

Minato stood there for a moment.

And another moment.

….

'…Isn't something supposed to happen now?…I suppose not.'

"Look, transfer student is putting the moves on Okumura-san."

"Well, that takes guts."

Two students who he didn't know and didn't want to know said to him.

"…Why?" Minato askes back skeptically.

"Hm, you don't know? So you live under a rock before transferring here?" Well, actually he did but not under a rock, as a rock.

"Okumura-san's father is the CEO of big bang burger, you know. The one with many branches."

"I hear they are one of the richest family in Tokyo."

"Oh, I also hear the her father is trying to become prime minister."

"Really, I never knew that."

…Student dumb and dumber talked among themselves. Looks like they forgot that he was here. Makoto turned around, ignoring them and walked out of the school.

"Hey, you know Risette is doing concert here next month."

'Wait, how did they change from burgers to idols?'

x-x

Makoto walked to the station with his mind thinking about the bruised students from school. 'This is the only lead I have. Philemon also said to save the wildcard but I don't see anyone like that…yet. And I don't see any world threatening things. Which leads me back to only suspicious thing, the bruised students. Okumura seems nice, maybe I can ask her tomorrow.'

As the blue-haired boy walked into the station, he didn't notice the world around him is changing with people strangely disappearing.

x-x

**Mementos**

'Hm…where am I?'

The whole place is red with veins like things growing on many place. Trains can be seen on either sides but they only seemed to go on one side. To the depth.

'What is this place?…Did I make a wrong turn somewhere?'

Then he felt it. Underneath this, in this tunnel, shadows. 'Wait, no, not shadows.… Personas? Why are there personas in here?'

Minato looked inside the depths keeping his guards up.

'They are not coming up…Hmmm….'

The boy went out of the station, while being careful of his surrounding.

'…Not a single soul. The entire city is quiet. Well,…no coffins, so that's a start.'

He took out his phone. The phone still worked but there's no line. "Well, I can rule out dark hour now" The boy walked further with his phone in his hand as he kept looking around. Not even animals exist. And there's something weird on hi-

'Wait…', "Change."

As soon as he said that a baton came flying right into his face. He doesn't know how farther he was blown back. He just knew it's far. *Crash*

Something fell down on him.

"Tch, he changed at the last second." A kid said with a huff.

"As master said, this will not be a easy battle." A cold voice with no emotion said.

Well, just like she said, he did change at last second, so he didn't suffer any injuries. But, The same thing can't be said about his phone though.

"Well, stand up, convict! We don't got all day, you know!" The first voice said angrily.

Minato awkwardly stood up and looked at them, two kids in matching uniforms. 'Cosplays? Well, they certainly looks adorable,…if they are not human…and are dogs.'

"Well, I see. You certainly looks strong." The kid with the emotionless face said. "But, our master's orders are absolute."

Minato looked at them tilting his head.

Master…blue. "…Wait, are you guys velvet attendants?" Makoto asked them with a raised eyebrow.

Both of them seemed surprised at his question. Even the emotionless kid seemed…not emotionless.

"How do you know of the velvet room, convict!?"

Of course, she is more true to her emotions than the other one.

"It does not matter, Caroline. The convict will be disposed of as our master's request."

"Yeah, I hope you are ready, convict! Because you are going down now!"

'So, their master, huh?' Minato scratched his head. 'Looks like the lead leads me to the lead.'

-x-x-


	3. Thou art I, I art Thou

2009

"Junpei,…why are you taking your evoker to school?" Makoto Yuki asked his friend.

"Heheh, you are still green, Makoto. We never know when shadows gonna attack us, so a true hero has to always prepare!" Junpei said in smug voice with equally smug face.

"Are you stupid, Stupei? Shadows can not attack you on daytime." The girl, Yukari Takeba said with an annoyed sigh.

"Uh, really?" Junpei asked with dumb-founded face.

"It is indeed true, Iori." Mitsuru-senpai added in while drinking tea. "As long as shadows are concerned, there's no case of them attacking on day. They are only active in dark hour."

"Bu-But, this is the only proof of me being a hero." Junpei whined unceremoniously.

"Nobody cares about you being a hero, Junpei." Yukari said while shaking her head.

"Hey, you know that hurt my feelings, Yuka-tan!" Junpei said while holding his chest with hurt expression.

"So, Iori, your worries are misplaced. Leave the evoker at the dorm, you only need to take it when we are doing the operation." Misturu said straight to the point.

"See that, Stupei!"

"Bu-Butt-But Yuka-tan-"

As the two bickered with each other, the blue haired boy listened to them intently.

"Hmmm…"

x-x

**Present**

'Great advice.'

"Persona! Triple down." Justine use$ her persona and suddenly invisible airborne bullets striked him.

"Nidhoog…" but he changed quickly and took on the bullets head on with his persona and they were all absorbed into his body.

The girl seemed to be annoyed for a moment then smirked coldly.

"Vajra blast!"

The other girl striked him from behind and he was hit in the head again, but this time it hurted.

"Kohryu." He changed his persona again and blocked out the next attack with both hands.

It seemed to work as the attack was halted in the middle.

"Nice try, but don't think that would work again." Minato smugly said. But that proved to be his downfall.

"Triple downs."

'Ahhhhh….'

The airbone bullets closed on him again. He can't change his persona yet so there's no choice but run.

He kicked the girl in front of him away but she didn't even look hurt, but he was not trying to hurt her anyway.

"Huh, run convict! since that's the only thing you can do." Caroline said with as much vigor she could muster.

'That brat.'

He was able to dodge most of the bullets but some still grazed him here and there, 'Guess I'm not coming out of this unscathed.'

Finally the bullets seemed to die down and he could breath again.

"It seems the convict has some resistance against physical skills." Justine said in her monotone voice.

"Huh, so it's time to up the ante." Caroline said with her baton on her shoulder.

'Oh god. Can't I really do nothing without my evoker?'

Both of them smirked at the same time and said, "Persona", "Persona". And two blue cards fall down on them before shattering into pieces.

'Cards?

'Wait,…isn't that_?'

x-x

**A long time ago in Tartarus**

The whole floor is filled with smoke and dust so much that nothing can be seen clearly.

When the dust started to clear, a girl in blue elevator attendant outfit can be seen sitting on her butt with a clear surprise on her face.

On the opposite of her is a blue haired boy who looked completely exhausted while breathing loudly.

"My, my Makoto-sama. I can't believe you actually beat me."

"Yeah, I *huh* I can't *hehuh* Believe *huuh* Just gonana stop talki-" *Pooof*

The boy cannot hold long and he too fell onto the floor.

"Makoto-sama, looks like you are exhausted." Elizabeth said standing up while dusting herself off.

"What *huh* what was your first clue?" Makoto said with sarcasm dripped in his voice.

"Hm, You are breathing hard and you seem to fall down rather unspectacularly." Looked ike it did not work with Elizabeth.

"But, Makoto-sama, the reward will be well worth of your time." Elizabeth said smiling happily.

"I sure hope so." Makoto said back in his usual voice. "…By the way, how do you summon without evoker?"

"Oh, yes indeed. I don't need your 'evoker' thing. Even without it, I can summon just fine. But, Makoto-sama, I don't think that will be needed on your journey." Elizabeth said with fake sad voice.…Maybe she just didn't know how to teach.

"Hm, is that so…All right, then."

**Present**

'Damn it, Elizabeth. You didn't even give me a pointer.'

"Well, convict. Your time is up" Justine said with her usual deadpan face.

"Ready or not, here I come, Agidyne!" Caroline said crushing a tarot card with her baton.

A flaming pillar suddenly sprouted from beneath him. But he came prepared.

"Surt."

"Ziodyne." Justine said while crushing another card with her hand and that he did not come prepared. Minato jumped away from the spot before the lightning hit him.

"As if I let you, Mabufudyne." Caroline shouted and suddenly the temperature drop and ice spike materialized around him.

Looks like Metatron will be the best choice. "Metatron." Ice spike began to close on him before shattering into pieces.

"Heh, I can do this all day."

That seemed to hit a nerve because Caroline start to shout at him with raised voice. "Die convict! Koguaon!" Yellow spears came trailing at him.

'Just light spells, scarde me for a moment.' The spear are little slow, so he just dodged them with ease.

"If you want to hit me, you have to try harder than that" Minato said while smiling slightly.

Now Caroline is fuming with anger.

"Gahh! This guy is A Jerk!"

"If I have to give pointers, I'd say try to not shout too lou-"

"Freidyne."

"Frei-what?" It was not long before something exploded right in front of him.

An bluish explosion occurred right in front of him and he was sent crashing right into nearby building, completely destroying it in the process.

Pieces of woods and glass fell on top of him but he was not hurt by that. 'Ah, It burns. What element is that? Is that not fire?…hmm, this isn't working.' He might really die if he didn't do something.

'…*sigh* , Looks like I have no choice.'

Although lying in the debris of now destroyed building, Minato uttered a single word quietly.

**_"U_ ** **_niverse"_ **

x-x

It looked like the attack word quite splendidly. When he started to nullify all of their attack, she was worried for a minute but looked like that her worries are all for naught.

"Heh, you are all barks and no bite! Convict."

Caroline taunted while flashing her baton.

'Indeed, this was an easy fight. And although Master warned them to be careful, it looks like this was not the case.' Justine thought to herself with a slight smile.

'Um!?' "Caroline, dodge!" As soon as she shouted that Caroline moved aside quickly without question and that seemed to save her as a red beam came out from the place where the convict was crashed into.

"What the hell was that!?" Caroline yelled back in mild surprise before looking back to place where the convict is. She, too look at there when-

…*Growls* , 'what?' *Rarr*

The debris are blown back by that roar, making dusts appeared on the surrounding and when it calmed down, there stood two beings. One is the convict now standing with his clothes in ruin and with a card of the death arcana floating in front of him.

'So, he can summon persona.' But, the persona behind him is one she had never seen before. Based on the look on Caroline face, looks like she too had not seen it either. It wore a jet black coat with coffins floating behind it. It's face looked like a helmet made of bone and with the power it's emitting, It was even scarier than personas from devil arcana.

"Nothing is out of my realm of possibility, huh, what a convenient skill." The convict said something neither she nor her twin can't understand.

"He-heh, I was starting to think you can't summon a persona, convict." Caroline said with a predatory smirk.

"You know what, I was starting to think that too" The convict speaked back with a small smile on his face.

"Heh, no matter, we will wipe the floor with you, convict! Justine, let's do it." Caroline said back to her twin with the same smirk from before.

'Yes, as long as both of us are together, no one can defeat us.', "You don't need to tell me twice, Caroline." Justine said back with a small smile.

The convict smiled looking at them for a bit before his face turned into impassive mask and then he crushed the card in front of him.

"Thanatos." Both the card and the persona shattered into blue pieces before concentrating onto his hand and finally forming a black long katana.

"Whatever trick you pull, convict, they are not gonna save you." Caroline shouted loudly before running straight towards the convict. "Vajira blast." Caroline used her spell as she crushes the card besides her and hit the convict with her baton.

The convict attack with his sword and the two are in a deadlock before convict used another spell.

"Heat riser." A card was crushed besides him and he kicked the Caroline right into the chest which threwher into the air. The convict starts to go after her by jumping into the air with his sword in hand.

"I won't let you, Maziodyne." Justine called upon the power of persona and multiple lightning became to fall, homing the convict. The convict dodged all the lightning easily while sidestepping in the air. But that delayed his reaction time and that was all Caroline needed.

"Bufudyne." Caroline used the spell while being suspended in the air and a giant block of ice came crashing into the convict. But the convict remained unfazed and cut the ice with his sword.

"What!?" Caroline was surprised by convict's power. Even she, too was surprised. The convict finally reached the Caroline and try to cut her in half with his sword.

"Garudyne!" Justine used a wind spell aim, not at the convict, but at Caroline. It seemed to work as Caroline was blown away from the place where the convict cut down his sword. Then Caroline used another spell now aimed at the convict.

"Psiodyne."

"…Not again."

From the moment he first summoned his persona, the convict had wore an impassive emotionless mask, but now he showed a mild surprise by widening his eyes for a moment before the spell hit him and he started to fall down from the air. And you can bet she will not let this chance go away.

"Ziodyne." The lightning hit him directly and he became to fall now more faster.

"Oof." That was not the convict's voice. It looked like in her moment of triumph, she forgot about Caroline.

"Caroline, are you alright?" Justine asked worriedly.

"It's nothing, just a bruise." Caroline said back but she still healed her just in case.

"Diarahan." The spell worked as intended and all the bruise on Caroline's body started to heal.

"Before, an explosion. And now mind attack. Is there anything new left that you guys can use?" The convict said in an annoyed voice while throwing away his outer shirt. Looks like although It's a direct hit, because he buffed himself, it only damaged his attire.

"Huh, convict, I hope you are not getting tired because the round 2 starts now." Caroline said while flexing her fist.

"Justine!" Caroline said and she nodded back understanding what she's implying.

"Affirmative, Riot gun." Justine used a high level gun skill and hundreds of bullets started to fall down on the convict.

The convict tried to slash the bullets but they were too many and soon he was overwhelmed.

'Um?' "Caroline, up there!" She didn't know how he do it but the convict is now high up in the air.

"Leave it to me, Thunder reign!" Caroline used her strongest lightning spell and crushes the card in front of her.

Then a lightning spear appeared in her arm and she threw it at the convict.

The convict is still unfazed and crushed the card beside him. "Power charge." Then he came head on with his sword towards the lightning spear and after struggling for a second, the spear broke down into sparks.

But the convict did not stop and kept going.

"Maragidyne!" Caroline used a fire spell but the convict just cut all the fire with his sword..

"Caroline with me!" Justine said and Caroline nodded back to her. And they both crushed the cards in front of them. "Maragidyne!", "Mafreidyne." Both the nuclear blast and fire blast fused and brought about a large explosion aimed at the one that's coming towards them.

"…Tch, Garudyne." The convict uses a wind spell and launched himself up. '…Strange, he didn't fight head on like before.' The convict used the moment of surprise to unleash his spell. "…vorpal blade."

"Vorpal blade!" Both the convict and Caroline used the same spells and many slashes met in the middle. But the convict started to overpower Caroline and she was hit by the attack.

"Caroline! Mediarahan." Justine used another healing spell to heal Caroline then "Vacuum wave!", "…Uh oh." the convict does not even have the time to react as the wind blown through him and he was thrown into building again.

"Caroline, are you alright?" Justine said worriedly walking towards her twin.

"I'm fine, be careful, Justine. This guy's tough."

As she said that, the convict walked out the building without a bruise.

'This is not going well, there must be something I can use.' Justine thought to herself with gritted teeth.

"…Are we done here? I rather not get thrown again." The convict said brushing the dust from his hair.

'…Wait, the first time he was hurt was when he got hit by frei spell and he ran away when we combine our fire and nuclear attack.…Is that his weakness?'

Justine smiled slightly and turned towards Caroline, "Hold him for a moment. I have a plan."

"You do? Well, I hope that works." Caroline said back with wide eyes before looking back at the convict.

The convict also readied his next attack, but that's not gonna work anymore, she now knew his weakness.

"Megido." The convict charged up a almighty spell and shot it towards them. They both broke up and surrounded him in circle. The convict then aimed at Justine with his sword and shot his spell again.

"As if that would works, Rangnork!" Caroline used her spell and a fire pillar emerges in front of her and stopped the spell making a large explosion occured where they met.

The convict then flexed his sword and aimes at Caroline. "Vorpal blade."

"This time I won't lose, Vorpal blade!" The slashes met in the middle again and true to her words, Caroline is pushing him back.

"Ga…Gahhhh!" Although with a little, No. A lot of difficulty.

The convict broke his spell and jumped up.

"Door of Hades…" pale silver light engulfed his sword and he slashed it at Caroline.

"Divine judgement!" A golden hammer appeared and stopped the convict's attack. The convict looked surprise for a moment, looking at the girl with wide eyes and that moment was all she needed.

"…Hm?"

Blue light began to appear around him. He looked in surprise at the light and before he can retaliate, Justine finished her spell.

"This is the end, convict. Cosmic flare!" The blue light around started to spark, and he couldn't do nothing but stared at them in wide eyes, before they all burst into a large explosion.

"Oh…Crap." *BOOM* A bluish explosion occurred in the city of red.

x-x

"Did we get him?" Caroline asked Justine with a worried voice.

"We don't know yet, but we can be sure that it will severely wounded him." Justine answered back her question with confidence in her voice.

The explosion is still going even now.

"Caroline, are you hurt?" Justine asked her for the third time.

"No, he didn't hit me." Caroline face turned into a smirk. "You should have seen the look on his face when I canceled his stupid dark spell."

"…Yes. He seemed surprise at that." Justine said back.

And the explosion finally died down, she waited with her weapon ready in case the convict didn't go down. But when the smoke are cleared, both of them were surprised at what they see.

"What in the?", "Im-impossible."

In the middle, the convict was still standing with his eyes closed without a wound in his body. Even his hair and his clothes are not burned.

"What? That's impossible!" Never in her existence, she hadn't seen Justine this surprise.

The convict finally opened his eyes and said a single word. "Infinity…"

Both her and Justine didn't know what that meant but they are still baffled so they didn't say anything back.

Then, all of a sudden, the convict started clapping.

"Impressive…Very impressive, you two. You guys gave me more troubles than the one I've fought before." The convict said with a soft voice.

'What's he talking about?'

"Two in harmony surpasses one in perfection, huh." His face turned a little sad.

A card floated down in front of him. The Judgement card.

"But, I'm afraid that will not be the case this time."

The convict closed his eyes and snapped his finger and the card shone with yellow light and then it changed into a blank card.

**_"_ ** **_Messiah"_ **

The card broke into pieces and shone in the bright yellow light. 'Did he summon a persona!?'

….

….

When the light finally died down, no persona is there, but only the convict. But now, his attire has changed. It is now a black suit with an emblem they've never seen before and underneath is the different white shirt. The red lines in his trousers are also gone. But that's not the most surprising thing. The convict, before with a mop of blue hair, has now entirely pure white hair. His silver eyes are changed into bright blue eyes that seem to be shining.

They both stared at the scene in front of him with both surprise and fear when Justine suddenly spoke.

"Is that a persona?" Justine asked in surprise. Indeed, he did not feel like a human no more. If they have to put into word, he is more like a persona than a human.

"Wh-what…What the heck are you!?" Caroline asked with shaking voice.

"I thought I already told you." The convict said back tilting his head.

"'…Messiah?…but isn't that your persona?" Justine asked back in shaking voice like her.

The convict laughed softly and said, "The persona known as Messiah does not exist within me, not anymore. From the moment I made that choice, the persona has became me, and I have became the persona."

'What's the convict talking?'

"I became a god. I became the Messiah."

'A GOD, that's what we were fighting against!?' *Thud* Justine couldn't hold her legs no more and fell down.

The convict laughed softly. "Do you know in the compendium, it's said that King frost can freeze the whole world?"

'How did he know about the compendium?'

"…The real king frost, anyway.…Now do you want to see the power of god's hand, when It's used by a real god?"

She too can't hold her knees and fell down. But he didn't stop. With a flex of his hand and still looking at them with the kindest eyes they have ever seen, he uttered a single word.

**_"_ ** **_God's hand"_ **

The sky split open and light became to fill her vision. But as soon as it came, the darkness took over her vision.

-x-x-


	4. GOD

**Mementos**

"Maybe I overdid it."

A white haired young boy stood in the middle of what can be described as a complete chaos. The entire place is in ruins. Buildings had collapsed and debris can be seen everywhere. The city looked like it was leveled by an earthquake. That's it, if this place can be even called a city.

Honestly he didn't know what this place even is. It looked and felt similar to the dark hour but at the same time so much different from the dark hour. It did not seen like the 'Tv world' that Elizabeth described but then again he didn't know half the things she talked about.

…*Rustle, rustle*

'Hm?'

Someone kicked the wreckage up and it was thrown into the air.

"tch, dammit!"

And came a young girl, her clothes are tattered and her eye patch is gone. All sorts of bruises and cut can be seen on her body.

"huh, huuh." She seemed to be breathing heavily and judging from the frown on her face and amount of animosity from the glare she's giving him, this seemed to be the Caroline.

"Well, color me surprised. I thought I will have to dig up for the both of you." Minato said while nodding to himself.

"Shut up, convict!" She snark back as hard as she could but it only came out as a wheezy voice.

"Wait, where's Justine?" The girl looked very worried and started to pull the wreckage around her. "Justine, answer me!" and began to shout madly for her twin.

"Justine!" Finally she found her but that did not put her at ease. If he tried to describe her in one word, she looked bad. But the girl lying in front of her was a lot worse. Both her hands looked broken and one of her legs was so purple that it looked like she was poisoned. But, that's to be expected considering what she had done.

x-x

**Moments Ago…**

**_"_ ** **_God's hand"_ **

_The sky split open and a large golden hand brimming w_ _ith light came falling down. The girl, Caroline looked at it with wide eyes and appeared to be frozen in place._

_The other girl regained her sense quickly._

_"Caroline, we must run." But Caroline said nothing and continued to look at the sky with wide eyes. Justine tried to shake her again and again but to no avail. Finally, she made her decision and stood in front of her twin summoning a persona._

_"Metatron." The messenger of god appeared and flew towards the golden hand with the intent to stop it. But, it was no use as the hand was not even slow down for a bit._

_"Rakujaka, Rakujaka, Rakujaka!" The girl tried to use spell after spell but the hand was still falling. And Finally, Metatron gave out and disappeared into shards._

_But the girl did not give up. She looked back at her twin but it looked like she fainted. The girl turned towards the sky again. The golden hand was heading towards them with alarming speed._

_"Heat riser"._

_With her hands forward and like before the convict before her did, she_ _fought head on towards her doom._

x-x

**Present**

'Honestly, that was a very stupid move.' …But, it looked like her wish came true as the girl she had saved was trying to heal her with all her power.

"Justine, wake up! Open your eyes!" The wounds were healing but the girl seemed like she's not waking up. 'Guess I better intervene.'

"You do know that diarahan does not work if you don't use recarm first,…right?" Minato tried to talk some sense into her.

"Ah, that's right!" Caroline said with wide eyes.

"Wait, did you really forget that?"

"Sh-shut up, convict!" Caroline said back with big blush on her face. 'Honestly, kids these days.'

"Reca-"

"That would not be necessary, Caroline."

An unfamiliar deep voice said. 'Hm?' The white-haired boy tried to look at the speaker and a complete surprise greeted him.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Messiah of the Fall."

A familiar man with familiar face filled with familiar grin greeted him with an unfamiliar voice.

"Master!" Caroline said in surprise.

"Igor?" Minato asked in astonishment.

"Heheheheh." The man said nothing but chuckled in deep voice.

"…Ah, Yaldaboath, I presume." The boy hardened his features and glared at the god before him.

The man looked surprised for a moment but chuckled again. "Ah, I am surprised that you know me."

"I am also surprised that you know me…." The boy said back without missing a beat.

The man chuckled again. 'Isn't he doing that too many times?'

"What do you mean, Convict? Master is master!" Caroline said while holding Justine in her arms.

'Looks like she doesn't know'. That's not his concern but still, "I don't know who your real master is but this man is not Igor, that much I can tell."

Caroline didn't say anything but looked back and forth between him and her supposed master.

The man, either didn't care or didn't think that was important enough, said nothing and looked at his surrounding.

"Such power and to think it would be wasted on a naive human.'' Yaldaboath said while looking around.

"What?"

"Heheh, you are still new to this godhood, so you wouldn't know. The gods' almighty powers don't come with free pass. Us, gods only exists only because of humanity's faith and belief. And our power comes from that, too."

'Really? Philemon never told me about that.', "So?"

"If you continue to use your power recklessly like that, it won't be long before your powers are gone and you become human again."

'So, I have a limit on power and time, huh.'

"It does not matter. All I need is to kill you and what I have left is enough to do that."

"A bit pompous, are we? I am afraid this will not be that easy." Red aura flared around him and the world around them start to shift. Bones like things, actually they really are bones started to appear. "Let me show you the power of a true god." The ground started to shake and rose up into the sky.

But, the white haired boy didn't bat an eye even when all of this is happening. Although the same thing can't be said about the girl holding her twin in arms.

"What's happening!?" She asked with disbelief in her eyes as the ground continued to rise.

Finally it stopped. The man was still grinning with bloodshot eyes and the white haired boy was looking at him with utter…disinterest. The boy finally broke eye contact and looked around. They were up really high in the sky. You can even see the clouds. It reminded the boy of something from his past.

"A tower atop the clouds and a god staring down at me. Hm, Is it supposed to scare me?"

"Don't worry Messiah. This is merely a stage befitting of my true form." Light started to fill the area and completely robbed them off their sight.

x-x

When it died down, a giant winged metal thing stood in front of the tower. It's wings were with red and silver color and it's whole body was shining from reflection. It's head looked like just a stone with slightly visible silhouette of his face and weapon cases like things can seen on his both sides.

"What the hell is that!?" Caroline shouted like there's no tomorrow. "Y-you are not our master?"

"I thought I've already told you that's not your master." Minato said while rolling his eyes.

"Who would've believe you, convict!?" Caroline snark back.

"Anyway, take your sister and get out of here,…Now." Minato said while looking back at his enemy.

"Where do I have to get out!? We are up high in the sky! Do you expect me to jump!?"

Caroline said while looking around for any exit.

"Then…just take a cover." Conveniently there were still debris but it wouldn't mean a thing in battle of gods. But, at least it's still better than nothing.

"F-fine, you owe me, convict."

"Why the hell do I owe you?"

"Finished with your tribling, Messiah?" Yaldobaoth said with now his echoey voice.

"Waiting for us to finish chatting. What a godly thing to do…" Minato said with a slight smile.

"Hm, I am just giving you a handicap."

The boy said nothing and still looked at the god when suddenly the boy vanisheed from his place and reappeared floating directly front of the god.

"What!?" The god said in surprised tone before the boy kicked his head. *Bam!*

A loud sound erupted as the boy's leg hit the god.

"And…do I look like I care?" The boy said in his usual monotone voice while flying in the air.

"Imbecile!" The larger god angrily said as he was thrown of balance. Suddenly, countless light arrows appeared above him.

"You shall perish!" The arrows started to fall mercilessly on the young messiah.

"Cadenza." The boy used a spell and blue light surrounded him.

The arrows relentlessly fell on the boy but the boy dodged them effortlessly.

"Megidoloan." Purple light exploded in front of him and all the arrow were destroyed.

"Gun of execution!" The god roared and a hand like thing appeared from his back. It took a revolver like gun out of it's right case.

"Distorted Lust!" and shot black purple beams from it.

The boy dodged around by moving around in the air. But, the beams followed him around.

"You can't run forever, Messiah! Accept your fate." The larger god said to the boy as he fired his gun again.

"Tch." The boy smacked his lips as more beams followed him, and finally he was hit and as soon as he was hit by one beam, many started to follow until all of them hit him without pause.

As the light became to clear, the white haired boy stood unfazed.

"If you think that's enough, you got another problem coming." Minato said and tried to attack the god again. But, found that he can't move.

"…What?"

"I release upon you the deadly sin of lust. You have no means of escape, Messiah! The insanity of mankind shall bring forth the demise." The larger god said in his echoey voice.

…*Buzzz, buzz*

"What are you trying to do?"

"Well, I don't need to move to beat you." Lightning crackled around the whole place. "Thunder call…" A large thunder struck the larger god and made him lose his balance.

"Ugh." Then many others started to fall altogether.

"Sword of conviction!" Yaldaboath summoned another of his arm and took out a long sword. "BOW DOWN TO YOUR TRUE GOD!" The larger god shouted and swung down his sword. Thunderbolts hit the sword but they were all repelled towards the whole place.

"No matter what power you use, you are just a human with the borrowed power of a god. You cannot hope to defeat a true god." Yaldaboath said with condescending tone.

"Oratorio." The boy's body shine as he used the healing spell. The boy stood up as he was cured from his status effect. "Not really, No." The boy summoned the same sword he used when fighting against the velvet twins. "I am a human…with unlimited potential and with the power of a god." The boy aimed his sword at the god and jumped straight to him. "You cannot hope to defeat something ranked higher than you."

"You humans never learn." The larger god also brought his sword down.

Both swords met in the middle with a loud clang.

"Your feeble sword cannot broke my sword of conviction."

"Haha, prudent of you to think I brought a normal sword against a god." The boy broke the deadlock by moving to the side and dodging the slash. But, the larger god wouldn't let him. "You wouldn't escape." The god tried to slash again but the boy had prepared for this.

"Scarlet havoc." Both the sword and the boy's body started to glow red, and mirages started to appear around the boy. Then, they all slashed at the larger sword all at once. The sword did not break but the force was so strong that both the sword and it's user was blown back.

"You fool!" Yaldaboath steadied his body and aimed his gun at the boy and fired again.

"This is the sword the Death used…" The boy said as he cut all the beams from the gun.

"And your shiny body won't stand a chance, Door of hades." The boy shouted as visage of Thanatos appeared behind him and he slashed his sword at the god's upper body forming a wide cut on his torso.

"Ahhhh!" the larger god cried out in agony.

But, the god didn't falter and used his power again. "No tolerance, no mercy. DIVINE APEX!" The god summoned more of his hands and brings out his weapons.

….

'Really? A bell and a book, What?' Minato thought looking at the…'weapons'.

"This is your punishment, foolish Messiah!" The larger god charged up a large black energy ball with red outlines.

"Who cares?" The boy said back as he also charged his own attack, the temperature around him rose up immediately.

"Well, I hope your body is flammable." The boy said as fire started to burn around him.

"This is the power of a true god, Rays of control!" The energy ball broke down into countless rays and aimed straight to the young Messiah.

"Ardhanari!" A large stream of fire was shot out of the boy's hand. The fire met the rays head on and many large explosion occurred between them.

"You think that such an attack would work on me! ME! A TRUE GOD!?" Yaldaboath mocked the Messiah as he charged another attack.

The fire were starting to flicker out but the rays were still going strong.

"It's no use, a mere human can not measure to a god, Rays of control!"As Yaldaboath unleashed attack again and more rays started to appear again.

"A mere human? Heh, I cast that life a long time ago. The man, Makoto Yuki and his ideals died with his friends." The flames were starting to disappear but many explosions were still occurring. "His soul had gone atop that tower." A blank card floated down front of him as his eyes start to shine and blue flames appeared around him. "All that's left is me, a savior, a Messiah. A God!" Thunder crackled in the distance as the whole sky darkened, and the wind started to blew heavily.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yaldaboath said as he looked around in fear. "No matter! You shall be defeated!", The Ardhanari spell worn out and rays of control zoomed into the boy.

But, the boy didn't move from his spot and crushed the card in front of him. **_"_** ** _Universe"_** The boy's voice echoed like the god before him.

**_"Armageddon."_** The blue flames around the boy emerged and completely engulfed the rays as they burned through to the larger god. Thunder wildly struck upon the god as the wind howled madly, making numerous cuts appeared around the god's body. The whole sky appeared to be crying as countless shards of ice falls onto the god as he cried out in agony. All blended together into such a sight. Yes, a sight befitting of it's name. The end of the world.

x-x

The world around him started to settle as the dark clouds move away.

"Looks like I lost control. Again."

The spell worked like a complete overkill. The larger god was completely defeated. Not even a speck of him was left. The Armageddon spell obliterated him completely.

The white haired boy looked at the floating card in front of him. "Looks like he's telling the truth." Sure, that spell was strong but in the past he could only use it once and after that he can't even move and never before it was this strong. So, of course, it came with a price. Over one third of the card looked like it's been burned. Nearly half of the card was gone.

"So, this is price for the power of a god, huh. I wonder is there any other way to recharge it?" The white haired boy said to himself as he now stood alone on the tower.

"Hey, convict. Is he gone?" Well, not entirely alone.

"I think so. And can you stop with the convict thing?" The white haired boy now directed his attention to the approaching girl. She was carrying her sister on her back.

"She still has not woken up?"

"Uh huh, and whose fault do you think that is?"

"Not mine, you guys attack me first."

"tch, we were just acting on orders." Caroline huffed in response. "So, if this one is fake, where is our real master?"

"How should I know?"

"You don't know!?"

"Well, maybe he did know but I can't ask him now, can I?" Minato said as he point as his back. "Besides, how can you mistake that guy for Igor?"

"We-well, we are busy helping our guest, so I hadn't really noticed it." Caroline said awkwardly looking away.

"…Okay, but I thought you guys and Igor are always in the room. How come you not notice it? His demeanor changed suddenly and you didn't notice it? Were you sleeping?"

"Ahh, umm-", Caroline started to think to herself. She looked confused but What's there to confuse about?

"And I thought the wildcard hadn't appear yet?"

"Well, one had already appear. But, we are preparing for the other one while you came. And who are you to talk about that? How do you know all of this?" Caroline asked him again while she steadied her sister's body from her back.

"Oh, I was a guest before."

"Huuh! You were the wildcard!?"

"Isn't that obvious?" But, anyway two wildcards? Isn't the wildcard supposed to be one and only? And wouldn't the other affects the other one's journey? Well, this complicated things. So, which wildcard was the one Philemon talking about?…'Nah, That does not concern me. I only need to save Elizabeth.'

"Caroline, what about your other siblings from the velvet room?"

…No reply came back.

"…Caroline?"

When he looked at Caroline she looked shocked. 'What happened again?'

''Con-co-convict!"

"My, my, Caroline. You shouldn't talk everything to an outsider."

The familiar echoey voice started to…well, echoed from behind.

"You are still alive?" Minato said in disbelief while turning around.

Yaldoboath looked like he was regenerating. No, not looks like, he was indeed regenerating. He still hasn't fully reformed but nearly all of his upper body has been healed. This scene felt familiar and it brought the boy great discomfort.

"I thought I destroyed all of you."

"You didn't think it would be that easy to kill a true god, Messiah?" Yaldobath said while regenerating.

"Well, I've never done it before."

"Like I say before, a god's power comes from humanity. As long as humanity's faith in me is still strong, I will not be defeated."

"Humanity's faith? I never even heard of you before I came here."

"Hm, with such power and you still think like an ape." Yaldaboath snorted back in response. "You of all people should know that, Messiah, people necessarily doesn't need to be believe in gods, themselves."

By that time, all of his upper body had been healed. 'Wait, I remember now.'

"As long as humanity feels grief, Erebus will still live." Erebus, that's who he reminded him of. "As long as humanity longs for death, Nyx will never fall." Nearly all of his body had been reformed. Minato readied his sword as the fight was looming closer and closer. "And, as long as humanity wish to be controlled, I will exist forever.", Yaldaboath roared as his wings sprouted forth. "That's what means to be a true god." Yaldaboath said with condescending tone as he finished regenerating. "But, you, messiah, you can be killed."

'Ahhhh, I forgot about that. That's why I had to seal Nyx. But, how does he know about my journey.…Damn it. Should I use my Armageddon spell to kill him again? Would that even matter?'

"Aren't you supposed to take your time?"

"Hm, don't lump me in with other gods. I am Yaldaboath, creator of all! Unparalleled by any!" Yaldaboath said as his hands appeared again and took out his weapons. And his wings started to darken as black aura surrounded his body. 'This feels like…death…?'

"Prepare, Messiah. This will not be easy as last time."

'Great, My second day on earth and already I don't know what's going on anymore.'

-x-x-


	5. A knack

?

"Hm, where am I?" Justine groggily said as she looked around. The place was pitch black and nothing can be seen in her vicinity, even herself.

"Did I die?" Justine said to herself but she couldn't hear her talking. "So, the convict killed me." Justine whispered slowly. "I hope Caroline is all right" But, she knew she was just fooling herself. Even though she protected Caroline with her life, there's no telling what he will do after that. She knew that convict is too strong. That attack that killed? her was not even his full power. She knew that Caroline would not survive fighting him alone.

"Master, are you gonna let her go that easily!?"

An angry woman's voice said from behind her. She knew that voice.

She turned herself around and look forward. A sight familiar to her greeted him.

"It's her choice, we do not have any say in this", the speaker was none other than her master and the one who was yelling at him was her sister, Margaret.

"What is this?", Justine asked but it looked like neither her master nor her sister noticed her.

She, then noticed that she was in front of them sitting on what appeared to be a sofa. She looked around and the pitch black was gone. The place looked like an elevator filled entirely with blue. She knew this place…this was the form the velvet room took on their sibling's first guest.

"But, we can't just to do that! I can't let my sister goes a futile wild goose chase.", Margaret angrily said back to their master.

"Please, Margaret clams down.", A boy's meek voice said from beside them. It was her brother, Theodore.

She knows this conversation, of course. It was a day or a moment which they would all remember. Although their first guest finished his journey successfully, he lost his life in the process. He gave up his life to protect the humanity. A noble decision but not without consequences. His bonds through his journey, not able to accept his death brought an dire anomaly to the world. Although he was their guest, their sister, Elizabeth served as his main attendant. And she fell in love with the guest. So, even she too can't accept his loss and made the decision to leave the velvet room in order to find a way to save him. And this was the aftermath of her decision.

"Elizabeth made her choice and decided to save Makoto-sama. We cannot intervene or affects her choice", her master, igor, calmly said closing his eyes.

"But, is that even possible? Isn't saving him would brought the same thing he died trying to prevent?", Margaret said clearly desperate.

"Elizabeth knew this. That's why she left. So she can find a way to save him."

A calm voice said this and Margaret looked back in her direction. 'Whose voice is that?', Justine thought to herself as she looked around. But, found no one.

'Was that me? Did I said that?', Justine tried to remember.

"La-n-a, why didn't you stop her? She was your sister.", Her sister said to her clearly angry. 'Who?'

"Please, sister, L-v-a is just trying to help." Her brother, Theodore said trying to calm down Margaret.

'Who are they talking to?'

"It's just like master said, Elizabeth made this choice herself, we cannot do anything but honors her decision."

'There's this voice again, was it me? Did I really said back to my sister' Justine try desperately to remember but her vision started to blur.

"L-n-,d-t -lk t- -r si-r.", her sister said something back, she can't hear no more. And as her vision started to fade Justine thought to herself.

"I wonder where was Caroline at that time?"

x-x

"Ah!"

The young girl Justine woke up suddenly.

"Where am I again?", Justine said to herself as she looked around.

"Justine, you woke up!"

Caroline said from beside her before she threw herself at her.

"Ahhh, I thought you'd really died."

Caroline said as she hugs her twin sister deeply. But, her sister looked dumbfounded.

"Y-yes,I'm fine.", Justine said staggeringly as she had no idea what's going on. Is this a dream? Did she really survived? Or did both of them died and met in the middle? Justine had many questions but decided to just ask one.

"Caroline, where's convict?", as soon as Justine asked the question, Caroline smacked her lips in annoyance and rolled her eyes back as far as she could.

"If you're looking for him, he's right back there." Caroline pointed behind her without looking back.

Justine still didn't know what's going on but she tilted her head and looked behind Caroline but what she saw there didn't help her one bit.

The convict was flying in the air dodging purple beams while fighting a giant golden living statue that has golden wings with black outlines.

The beams died down and the large statue slashed its equally large sword down at the convict.

But, the convict blocked the slash with his own sword. The convict looked like he was not hurt but his expression is grim.

"Where's all your bravado now, Messiah?", an echoy voice emitted from the statue.

"Yes, bravado, I also wonder where art thou?" The convict said as he broke the attack and charged a spell on his hand.

"Megidoloan". A large explosion occurred on the statue's upper body.

The convict dropped his hand and looked onward. "Did it get him?"

"Rays of control!" Suddenly many large black beams was shot towards the convict.

"I supposed not, Infinity!" A barrier appeared in front of the convict and it blocked the beam but it started to crack as the beams kept coming on.

"What?" Finally the barrier broke and convict was hit by the beams and was blown back.

"Hah, serves you right, convict!" Caroline said jovially.

…?

"Ca-caroline, what's happening?" At her question, Caroline stopped celebrating and thought for a moment.

"Umm, it's complicated but long story short, our master is not our master. That golden god is bad guy who's posing as our master and the convict is complete and utter total JERK!" Caroline said the last part angrily, but that did not clear things up.

"After that guy came back to life, me, an avatar of power, graciously offered my help and do you know what he said?"

"Ah, n-no."

"He was all like-", Caroline made her eyes looks sleepy with only opening a little and said in a low voice. " _What a brat like you would do to help me? It's not even funny as an April fools' joke_ , Can you believe it? the nerve of him." Caroline said imitating the convict but with her face, it just looked like Justine. Convict and her really looked alike, huh. But, that still did not clear things up.

"Caroline, I still don't-"

…*Boom*

A loud explosion occurred and something crashed into the debris beside the twins.

x-x

"Damn it. How does he keeps breaking my infinity." Minato said while holding his head. The god before him was nothing like before. While he was strong before, now he is on completely different level. His powers are way stronger and the dread he's feeling, it's just like he's fighting with Nyx, not as potent as her, but still.

"This is getting nowhere." Minato said as he healed himself. Minato prepared to start attacking again but beside him, the twins were looking at him with wide eyes.

"Oh, you're awake." Minato said to the now awoke girl, Justine.

"Ah-h, Ye-yeah."

"Good."

"Huh!, Convict now you see you cannot win without my help." Caroline said with a smug voice.

"Justine, can you still use your powers?"

"Huhh, I-can."

"Hey, stop ignoring me."

Minato rolled his eyes and sigh loudly.

"I'm not ignoring you. I'm just trying to ignore the fact that you're here."

"What the HELL!"

"Listen, Brats can't do anything here. Just get out of this place and run as far as you can." Minato jumped straight towards the god after saying his part.

"Hey, stop calling us brats!" Caroline said back but Minato can't hear her…or possibly just ignored her. "Hm, he just won't admit he needed my help. Justine, let's go!" Caroline said back to her sister.

"huh, what? We shouldn't help him, Caroline. He's our enemy." Justine said back.

"I already told you, It's not our master who told us to kill him. Honestly, I also don't trust him but if we want to get out of here alive then we should help him."

Justine didn't know what to do. But, she knew she can trust her sister. "Fine, I will help."

"Great, now let's go." Caroline also went towards the god as Justine followed close behind her.

"My questions can wait, I suppose."

x-x

"Why do you still try, Messiah? You know you can't win." Yaldabaoth said to the boy in front of him.

"Well, I also know that I'm dead, so…who knows?" Minato said back in response. "I thought I told you to run." Minato said as the velvet twins reached their destination.

"Hm, why should we listen to you?"

"hmm…" Minato rolled his eyes and signs loudly. "Kids shouldn't interfere in adult's stuff."

"Huhh! Who are you calling kids?"

"Um, you two." Minato said back to Caroline as she smacked her lips. "Damn it, I hate you."

"Ah, Justine you've awoken." Yaldabaoth said to the now recovered girl. But, she did not said anything back and looked at the two gods in front of her while keeping her guard up.

"But, Messiah, you think you can win against me just because of them." Yaldabaoth spoke to the white-haired boy.

"Well, I didn't tell them to come." Minato said as he slashed his sword at the air.

'Now, what should I do? I must save my universe power. And even if I kill him, he will just come back. So, brute force won't work. What choices do I still have?' Minato thought to himself.

"You two should listen to the Messiah." Yaldabaoth voice stopped Minato's line of thought. "There are things I still have to do and you two are vital to them. I wouldn't want to accidentally kill you two."

"Hm, you think we would still work for you! Keep dreaming." Caroline said as she crushed the card in front of her. "Vajira blast."

A shock wave was produced and aimed at the god but the larger god just put his sword in the way and it was repelled.

"It's no use. What can you accomplish while you two are weakened?" Yaldabaoth said.

'Tch, those two are going to kill themselves.'

"We can beat you even while we are weakened, you faker. Justine, with me." Caroline said while Justine nodded her head and opened the book in her hands.

"Vorpal blade/ Riot gun."

Bullets and slashes started to rain down upon the larger god. But, the god looked unperturbed and just blocked all of them with his sword.

Minato watcheed the twins as they fight against the god.

Even when they are at clearly disadvantage, they chose not to run away. They chose to fight against an entity far greater than them. It's just like him in his fight against Nyx.…'Like the fight against Nyx?'

"Wait." As soon as Minato said that time seemed to stop. The battle between the twins and gods seemed to stop as they all stood frozen in their place.

"What?" The whole place just frozen in place. "What happened?"

_"S- -i-."_ A voice. Minato looked around but there just the twins and the god and they all are just fixed in their position.

Then, suddenly the whole place darkened and he couldn't even see his surrounding anymore.

"Is that another of his attack?" Minato said as he charged almighty spell in his hand.

_"Seal him."_

"Huh?" Minato turned around as he clearly heard the voice. But he still can't see no one.

The voice sounded feminine and kind of familiar.

"Who are you?" Minato shouted but his answer didn't come.

_"Seal him at the depths of cognitive."_

The voice didn't answer him but it kept telling him to seal the god. 'Looks like I have no choice.'

"Sealing won't work. I can't make a permanent seal and a temporary one won't change a thing." Minato decided to speak in their terms and that seemed to work as they answered him back.

_"Guide the trickster."_

"What?"

_"Guide the trickster. He will show you the way."_

"What are you saying?" Minato asked but the darkness around him started to disappear slowly. "Wait, I'm not finish yet. Tell me. What is a trickster?" Minato asked but no voice answered as the darkness disappeared completely and time started to resume.

"What is that?"

"Hey, Convict stop standing around." Caroline's voice broke him out of stupor. Justine didn't say anything but still looked at him with narrow eyes. Yaldabaoth also didn't say anything but he could feel he's looking at him.

"Where did you go, Messiah?" Yaldabaoth asked him and everyone turned to look at him at his odd question.

"What?"

"Answer me, Messiah! Where. Did. You. Go?" Yaldabaoth asked him in angry voice.

'So, he knows something about this.' Minato didn't answer him back but he sighed slightly. 'Yes, the only thing I can do now is listen to that voice.'

"Justine, Caroline!" Minato called the twins and they both turned their heads to him. "I need you two to do as I say."

"huh? Why should I listen to you?" Caroline said back.

"Because we only got one chance and I don't want to waste it. Can I ask that of you?"

"Hey, Looks like yo-" Caroline tried to said but Justine intervened. "Caroline, you are the one who said we should help him if we want to win." Caroline didn't seem to agree for a moment but she finally gave in.

"Tch, fine. Do whatever you want."

Minato smiled and said, "Thanks, Justine."

Justine looked back at him and said, "In exchange, I would like you to answer my question."

"Um, Sure."

Justine nodded. "Is your name Makoto Yuki?" Minato was surprised at her question but he recovered fast.

"It was but not anymore."

Justine only nodded and turned back.

"What was that about?" Caroline asked her sister. But she only answered with a tilt of her head.

"Well then, let's start." Minato said as he stood in front of the twins.

"No matter what you do, you can't win against me, Messiah." Yaldabaoth said the same line again but this time it was different. There is a tinge of fear in his voice.

"We will see about that." Minato breathed in slowly. "Archangels." As soon as he said that his blue eyes starts to glow again and four beings appear around the twins and him.

Both the Justine and Caroline looked at the beings around them.

"Are they personas?" Caroline asked and Justine answered her question. "No, they are not."

Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel. They were his personas before but now they are not mere personification no more. They are the real archangels.

"Deus xiphos." Minato held up his hand and the sword of the archangel appeared in a bright warm light.

Now with two swords in hand, Minato looked back at Yaldaboath.

"Sword dance." A glass breaking sound was heard and the four archangels broke their formation and surrounded the god. Then with their weapons in hand all of them started to attack the god. Slash after slash, bruises after bruises. The four archangels didn't let up for a moment and continued their assault.

"Stop this folly, Messiah", Yaldabaoth said as he also swung down his sword at one of the archangels but it was futile as if he stopped one of them the other three attacked him mercilessly.

"Wow" Caroline said in surprise as the four archangels continued their dance.

"Save your surprise, now aim your strongest fire spells above his head on my command." Minato gave his orders and went towards Yaldabaoth as he summoned a tarot card.

"King and I." Minato slashed the card in front of him and the snow began to appear around them.

"What?", Yaldabaoth stopped attacking the archangels and looked at the messiah.

"What are you trying to do now?"

And not long after he said that a giant snow man appeared above and started to fall straight at him.

"You imbecile." Yaldabaoth shouted as he ignored the archangels and aimed his gun at the falling snow man. But before he could shoot, Minato gave his order.

"Now." As soon as he said that the four archangels stopped their assault and fell back.

"Blazing hell!" The twins crushed the card in front of them and a large blazing circle appeared between the god and the falling snowman.

"What?" Yaldabaoth said in before he could do anything, the snow man hit the fire and melted into water immediately. A large ball of water dropped on the larger god.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Well, I don't have water spells so I have to improvise now, didn't I? Caroline, thunder reign." Minato said as he kept marching straight towards the god.

"Fine, I know it." Caroline said and shot a lightning javelin at the god.

"No!" Yaldabaoth tried to shield but he's too late as the rod hit him and surges of lightning crackles throughout his whole body.

"Ahhhhh!" The gods shout loudly in agony and the lightning destroyed all his weapon except for his sword. "Stop, you fools!"

"Justine, wind spell at me."

"Affirmative, Garudye."Justine used her spells and launched Minato towards the god.

"Foolish messiah!" Yaldabaoth roared loudly and swings his sword down. "Sword of conviction."

Minato readied his two swords as he was launched towards the god in no time. "Ayamur." Minato swings both his sword at the same time and cut Yaldabaoth sword in two pieces.

"Impossible!" Yaldabaoth shouted in surprise as Minato broke his sword.

Now with all his four weapons gone, Minato also recalled his swords. "Justine, Caroline. Start the assault!"

"You don't have to tell me twice, Convict."

"Vorpal blade/ Riot gun!" Both twins shouted loudly as they used their spells at the god, now without his sword to shield him.

Minato flied higher and higher until he was above the god.

'Finally, I can get close to him.' "Now for the finale, **_Universe_** " Minato said as he summoned the blank card again.

Yaldabaoth now fed up with all the attacks roared loudly. "Rebels who dare defy my rule, you shall perish!" Yaldaboath angrily shouted. "Divine apex." Yaldabaoth restored his weapons to their peak condition again.

"What?" Both Minato and the twins exclaimed in astonishment.

"Damn it, he restored his weapon." Minato said as he floats in midair.

"This will be your punishment, Messiah!"

"Ah, He's going to use that rays again. Convict, dodge!" Caroline shouted loudly at him.

'Hmm…If I dodge now, I will never get the chance again but infinity can't withstand it. What should I do?'

"Accept your fate, Messiah! Rays of control."

'I will just have to soldier through.'

"Infinity." The barrier appeared again and shielded the messiah from the beams.

"That barrier can't withstand my power! Perish! Messiah!" Yaldabaoth boasted loudly as cracks appeared around the shield. Finally the barrier broke and the rays started to hit the messiah.

"Uh Oh." Minato cursed but as soon as the rays hit him, they were all repelled to all directions. No matter how many times they hit him, they were all repelled until none left.

"What? It can't be! That power!?" Yaldabaoth said with fear in his voice.

Even Minato was surprised. After all he knew that spell. It was not infinity. The spell that don't act as a barrier but as a armor that repeled every attack to user. As far as he knew, there was only one who can used that power. 'Tch, no use thinking about it now. This is my chance.'

"Scribe!" The angel Metatron appeared behind him. And both of them fell straight towards the god.

"I condemn you, Messiah! Divine A-!" Yaldabaoth tried to charge his attack again but this time the four archangels appeared and held down his hands. "Ahh?"

Now defenseless, Yaldabaoth could only lay in wait as the Messiah used his spell on him.

"Hm, I must warn you .This is gonna hurt." Minato said as he crushes the blank card in front of him. _"_ A lot… ** _Scribe,_ _Enoch!"_** Both Minato and Metatron held their arm out and a soundless shock wave appeared throughout their surrounding.

"Hm?" Justine and Caroline as nothing happened. "What? Nothing's happe-"

"Ahhhhh" Yaldabaoth suddenly shouted loudly as cracks after cracks appeared on his body. "STOP THIS!" The god shouted and the debris were blown back by that force alone.

"What is happening!?" Caroline asked.

"Caroline, take cover!" Justine shouted from behind and both of them used their spell just not to be blown back. But their worries were for nothing as the Metatron that Minato summoned came down in front of them and act as a shield.

x-x

"Now's my chance." Minato said as he flew away from the god who kept screaming. That attack was used with him, a Messiah and metatron, the voice of god. It was supposed to be a soundless sound attack. But, Yaldabaoth kept screaming so the point just became moot.

'And now for the sealing.' The four archangels are still holding the god's hand down, but he had no choice, he will have to seal all of them at the same time. Now for the cognitive place, the closet thing would be the place crawling with persona. And now that's all clear up, he will have to believe the voice that the trickster can show him the way.

Minato pointed his hands toward the sky and used his spell, **_"_** ** _Great seal"_**

Then the platforms he's standing on broke into columns and surrounded the screaming god in front of him. Then they all started to close in on the god like a box completely covering all his body until only his head and the upper part of his hand can be seen.

Finally the god resisted the pain from the spell before. "What are you doing to me?"

"Well, if you know all about me, you must know that I have a knack for sealing gods. But, don't worry I will come back with a plan to finally kill you. Until then." Minato snapped his finger and chains began to crawl all over the god's body. Then It began to fall towards the place with personas.

"No, you cannot do this. Your world only existed because of me. You will suffer, messiah, You will suffer."

"Yeah, yeah, said that to someone who cares." Minato said as the god sunk into the ground until nothing could be heard anymore.

"Huuh." With all the fighting done. Minato finally relaxed and lied down. "Now all I need to find is that stupid trickster and I can become the seal again. I can't believe I miss being the seal." Minato said while yawning as the blank card beside him was only a little left. Nearly all of it was gone.

-x-x-


	6. Velvet

**Mementos**

"What does convict do to him?" Caroline said as she and her sister got out from the debris.

"I think he used the same spell he used before." Justine said back as she dusted herself off.

"Before? Justine, you've seen him before?"

"You don't remember him?" Justine looked shock for a moment and then narrowed her eyes and asked her sister. "His name is Makoto Yuki, our first guest."

"First guest?" Justine carefully looked at her sister looking for any reaction. 'What is the meaning of this? Is Caroline really not around at that time?'

"Ah! Sister Elizabeth's guest!" Caroline suddenly exclaimed. At her answer, Justine became relieved, but collected herself and sighed. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, it just slipped my mind. But, isn't the first guest emotionless and impassive guy? Not like this sarcastic, insufferable jerk?" Caroline said with an irritating tone.

"You do know I'm still here, right?" Minato said as he suddenly appeared right behind them, now his white hair gone and with his blue hair and original white shirt.

"Yeah, it's better if you heard that." Caroline said with a smirk on her face.

Minato looked at her for a moment then grunts and turned to Justine.

"Justine, right? You looks like you are the smart one. So, I gonna have to ask you my questions."

"Hey, what does that make me?" Caroline said back but Minato ignored her and proceeded with his question.

"Do you know what a trickster is?" Minato asked, still ignoring the fuming Caroline beside him.

"Trickster? It is what we called our guests." Justine answered without batting an eye.

"Guests? So, it's true that there are more than one wildcard this time."

"Yes, the first guest had already started his journey, but we are still preparing for the second guest."

"Preparing?" Minato stared at them. "…What do you have to do? Think up new kinds of cryptic Messages? The lady who's singing has to clear her throat?"

"…." Justine said nothing back and stared at him with impassive eyes. Caroline also stopped her insults and looked at him.

The atmosphere became suddenly weird.

….

"…It's a joke." Minato said back but still there's no reaction. "I'm sorry, I'm still new to this."

"Hey, are you sure this is Sister Elizabeth's guest? He's acting really out of character." Caroline said with a look of disbelief.

"Well, the appearance matches but his personality is different somehow." Justine said scrutinizing the guest? in front of her.

"There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that but I don't care enough to tell you." Minato said as he ruffled his hair. "So, if there are two wildcards which one I'm supposed to guide on?"

"Why you gonna guide them?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know, someone tell me if I want to completely kill that god, I have to guide the trickster. Now, I don't know what that means but that's my only lead if I really wanna kill that god."

"Who is the one who told you that?" Caroline asked.

"Hmm, If I know that would I have said 'someone'?" Minato said as he turned around and looked around the half-broken tower.

"Forget about that for a moment, how do we get out of here? And what is here in the first place?"

"This place is known as Mementos. It is cognitive palace for all of humanity. You could say that this is the conjoined heart of mankind." Justine answered back in her monotone voice.

"…Okay" Minato said back while still looking around the strange place tinted with red. "I understand it runs in your blood. But, if you wanna explain something to people, you make sure to explain what that something is first."

"Tch, which part of her answer you don't understand?" Caroline said clearly not amused.

"Honestly, every part." Minato shrugged.

"What is there not to understand!? This place is the rift that all of human's desires take form. The heart of all living things, the center of all emotions." Caroline added back but Minato still stared at her with deadpan eyes.

"What!? How can you not still get it?" Caroline added with frustration in her voice.

"Well, for starters, what pray tell is the center of all emotions supposed to be?"

"The center of emotions is supposed to be THE center of emotions."

"Yeahhhh, I know you think you're helping, buuttt…clearly you're not."

"Ahhh, You're so irritating!"

"And, that I understand."

"*Sighh*" Justine sighed tiredly as her sister and their former guest bickered at each other. It was actually pretty one sided though.

"That's enough wasting time. We must plan our next course of action." Justine tried to diffuse the situation by changing the topic.

"Alright, alright." Minato sighed stopping the little girl who's trying to punch him. "As an elder, I will take the higher ground and apologize." Minato said holding his hands up. "Caroline, I'm sorry…that you suck at explaining things."

At his words Caroline finally snapped and took her baton out, "That's it! Prepare to die!" Caroline shouted while leaping towards the eyesore in front of her.

"Makoto-sama, you're not helping." Justine sighed again.

"Isn't taking higher ground means this?" Minato smiled as he dodged the oncoming(Probably fatal)strike.

"Stop dodging!"

"You're hurt. You should rest. Don't move around too much."

"I will REST when I wipe that smirk on your face!"

"It's not a smirk. It's just a mildly amused face."

"Gahhhh!"

As Justine watched her sister antics, she saw their former guest smiling. Not a smile of an all powerful god. Not a smile of a cynical death god. But a beautiful smile of a lonely boy, experiencing joy for the first in a long time.

'It is beautiful, indeed.' Justine thought staring the boy in front of her.

"Wait…" Minato suddenly said holding his hand, stopping Caroline in her tracks. Then he looked around the place he's standing on. The only things he could see on the horizon were the sky and the clouds.

"Um, Maybe I should have started with this question…How do we get down from here?"

x-x

?

One man? stood alone in a place pitch black darkness. His body was chained from head to toe and held down by the four other beings around him. Who were they, you asked? He didn't care. They were no match for him, anyway.

The man? released his power and one by one the chains started to break. The four beings around him tried to hold him down but they indeed were no match for him. Before long, all four of them were engulfed in a red light and they were all absorbed by that no sooner.

The man? now freed of the chains holding down, stood straight and looked around. The darkness started to dispel and a familiar surrounding entered his sight.

It was the velvet room, well, the pseudo-velvet room he constructed.

It is said the velvet room take the form of the heart of its guest. So, when he saw this velvet room form for the first time, he was intrigued by the form it took. A prison. The form that velvet took was none other than a prison. He wondered what the guest was like for it to become a prison among other things. But, now, he felt like this was a mockery to him.

He turned around and indeed there it was. A large silver door. He can able to break the chains seizing him down. He can consume the four archangels holding him back. But, it looked like he cannot break the seal that the Messiah placed. Now, this place truly became a prison for him.

Yaldabaoth walked closer to the door and examined it.

"At least, this was not meant to last forever." But, he didn't know how long. A day, a year, centuries, millennia.

"Maybe, not that long." The god shrugged and walked to the middle of the room. He snapped his finger and a short desk and a chair appeared in front of him.

The man sat upon it with a cruel grin on his face. He then stared upwards with hi bloodshot eyes.

"Soon, that messiah will know that I'm the only one between his world and destruction." The god started to laugh then it get louder and louder. "Soon, he will come back for me. He will know that I am the only one who can save him from that wretched fate." The man's laugh echoed through the place and the velvet blue started to vanish a little by little until it was all filled with blood red.

x-x

"Now this is strange."

A man in a head to toe jet black suit, combined with black mask stood in a place of what appeared to be a spaceship. But, it didn't appear to be a spaceship. It was truly a spaceship.

Akechi Goro was in the palace of his father's colleague and supporter Kunikazu Okumura. The supporter part is a little in a gray now though.

There were rumors of trying to enter political world using his business as a base. And he's here to confirm whether this rumors are true or just rumors. But as luck would have it, he really was trying to do that.

Now he knew his father is not going to take that lightly. He knew political world is dangerous but his father is seriously paranoid. He would not take that lying down. Now, whether Mr. Okumura was trying to backstab or not, his financial supports were undeniably what kept the Shido campaign floated.

So, the million dollar question would be is Mr Okumura usefulness outweighs the risk he imposes or not. But, he suppose it's not his place to question his father's choice.

More importantly though, that's not the strange thing he's baffled with. The velvet room, a suspicious place with an short old man and two kids who occasionally helped him on his work, the place where he fused his personas was now nowhere to he seen. Normally, the blue jail door would be at the entrance of every palaces and even in the real world he would see that door in some places. Now that door is nowhere to be seen.

"Did something happen to them?" Akechi didn't particularly care about them. No matter how you cut that up, they are clearly planning something. It didn't matter how many times they say they are just to help in his 'journey', his detective senses warned him not to trust them.

'You don't actually need to be a detective though. Any normal sane persona would not trust them.' But, at least they were useful tools in his conquest and he would rather not lose his trump card.

"Hmmm, meh. There's nothing I can do, I suppose. I should just wait and see." Akechi Goro pocketed his pistol and took out his phone and walked back to the entrance.

"Oh, there's new cake shop opening, Maybe I will go there before reporting in, Hahhaha."

x-x

"Um, I think that's all." Akura Kurusu packed his things in a box. "There's really not much, anyways." He didn't have not much personal things. He was not an introvert, so he didn't have any games or computer. The only electrical thing he had was his phone. All of the things in his box are just clothes and…. clothes.

"Hmm, I wonder is there even anyone who will remember me when I leave?" Although his parents tried to delay the probation, in reality he really had nothing to prepare.

"To a unfamiliar city with nothing but clothes on my back. As if my situation isn't worse enough." Akira took out his chair and sat on it staring at his ceiling. "Will I have new friends over there?"

"Who am kidding? No one wants to be friends with a student with a criminal case." Akira rubbed his eyebrows and took out the book from his book he was reading before all this happen.

'Arsene lupin, the gentleman burglar'

x-x

"See anything?"

"What's there to see, there's nothing but clouds."

"…You could have said it in nicer way though." Minato said back and he could hear her teeth screeching but he didn't care. He was looking some kinds of exit or stairs or just something. The last time he was in a tower like this, he flied toward the moon and after that they just came down from stairs. Even now, he could just fly down but his universe power is fearfully low, so he rather not use any of his god power for now. Although if push came to shove he will have to use it though.

"I don't see any exits in my search." Justine the monotone one, younger or older he didn't know, said from behind him.

"Hm, I suppose we have no choice,…But, see, Caroline, you could have said it in a polite way like that."

"Why do I have to be polite to you?" Caroline said pushing the debris in front of her. "Hm, what a waste of our time."

"Now that I think about it, you guys have not answer my question about your siblings." Minato said checking the place for the last time.

"We have not heard from them for a long time. Our master said that they are away with missions of their own." Justine answered the question while Caroline wiped the dusts from her clothes.

"And…you just believe that? no questions asked." Minato asked clearly? surprised.

"Hey, our master's word is absolute. We will do it no matter what." Caroline said back.

"And you know all of this could have been avoided if you have recognized me from the start." Minato said.

"How could we know that you are the wildcard just by looking at you!?" Caroline snapped back.

"I was using multiple personas in front of you, I think It's pretty obvious."

"It looks like you are mistaken about something, Makoto-sama." Justine cut in while Minato was still talking.

"Being able to use multiple persona doesn't necessarily make you a wildcard. All of us, velvet attendants can able to use them and we are surely not wildcards. And before you, there were other humans who can use multiple personas and they are not wildcards either." Justine explained to the god in front of her.

"…Oh…is that so."

"Haha, in your face, convict!" Caroline didn't let up a chance to take a dig at their former guest.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me 'convict'? Anyway, just hang onto me, we will just fly, I mean, float down I guess." Minato walked over to edge of the tower and looked down. "Ack, it really is tall."

Both Justine and Caroline walked over to him. Justine latched her hand on the guest in front of her and Caroline was a little hesitant first, but then she, too also latched her hand.

"We are ready, Makoto-sama." Justine said but no answers came back. "Makoto-sama?"

"Heyyy, convict! we said we're ready." Caroline also said.

"Yeah, yeah. I heard you the first time." Minato held up his head and looked around the place. "Do you guys hear something?"

"What are you talking about?" Caroline looked at his sister and she too was looking at him with a puzzled face. "We don't hear anything."

"No, I'm sure I heard something. Oh, there's that sound again." Minato suddenly turned around try to listen again.

"What sound did you hear?" Justine asked.

"Like, like, uh, something's cracking. Yeah, a cracking sound."

"We don't hear anyt-

…*CRACK, CRACK*

"Oh, now I also heard it." Caroline said back as she too also readied her baton and looked around.

"See, I told you."

"Um! up there!" Justine suddenly shouted and both Minato and Caroline looked up to see…

…"Is that normal?" Minato asked as he saw the reason Justine shouted. The sky above them is cracking like a mirror.

"Abso-absolutely not." Caroline answered back and then countless cracks appeared throughout the sky.

"We do not know what is this, but we can say that this is not a normal situation." Justine answered back.

Minato also summoned back his sword and prepared for anything. The cracks seemed to be spreading as the whole sky was suddenly filled with countless fractures.

'What is this I'm feeling? Dread? No. Despair. That's not it, either. Fear, Why do I feel fear? When I look at it, I feel fear? No, it can't be. But, this fear, it originated from…Chaos?'

"What? Another Go-" Before Minato finished his sentence, the sky completely broke and a wave of darkness came crawling towards him.

**_"Infinity."_** As if by instinct Minato crushed his arcana and evokes a shield in front of him.

…*Dooom* The darkness hit the shield and a loud sound was echoed throughout the city. But, the wave didn't stop, it kept on coming. And almost suddenly, all the cracks opened and similar waves of darkness fell down towards the ground around them.

"What The Hell Is Happening!?" Caroline shouted as both her and her twin took cover behind the messiah.

…*Crack*Crack*

The cracking sound appeared again but this time it's not from the sky but the shield in front of them.

"Ohhhh, That's not the sound I want to hear."

The shield finally broke and the darkness consumes all three of them.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!", "Huhh."

x-x

…*Boom*

A loud sound echoed in the dark empty space.

**"Rather tenacious, are we?"** Philemon said as he destroied the two headed dog in front of him.

**"Judging by the rate he's regenerating, it seems large amount of dark energy enters this world."** Philemon looked back at the now open door behind him. **"Did I make the right choice entrusting the future to him?"** The man chuckled a little. **"I suppose he's not alone"**

The blue butterfly was seen again flying through the window. And behind the window was a human boy named Akira Kurusu, reading a book while spinning the pencil in his hand.

**"One bound by fate."**

The butterfly was seen again strolling through the city. In one of the shops, a handsome young man was looking at the menu, "I think I will take the pancakes", Akechi gave the menu back to the waitress flashing a smile.

**"One bound by emotions"**

The butterfly was flying in the red space with a man in the middle. The man was sitting in a chair with a small desk in front of him. "Maybe, I should change the name to Crimson room." The man seemed to ponder for a moment. "I suppose that's the best course of action."

**"One bound by sins"**

Many waves of darkness was falling down from the sky to place tinted with red.

**"And One bound by past."**

"Umm, where am I?" Minato Arisato opened his eyes and looked around the place. The space was dark and only the floor seems to be blue. "Blue?"

**"And…In this game of life and death,"**

Minato stood up and the twins on his body fall off. "Uh!", "Bwap, Ah!" Caroline fell down with a thud. "Huh, where are we?"Justine also woke up and looked around.

**"In this world filled with darkness,"**

"I think it's a success, sister."

Minato turned towards the voice.

"Good job, Theo." From the darkness came a elegant voice. And then a young man and a mature woman came out.

"You are-"

**"I ask of you, Messiah-"**

"Welcome back to the velvet room, Makoto-sama. I apologize for my tardiness."

"Margaret?"

**"Will You be able to find your light back again?"**

-x-x-


	7. So, What Now?

?

"You're-"

"Welcome back to velvet room, Makoto-sama. I apologize for my tardiness."

"Margaret?"

The woman in front of him smiled. "Ah, I'm glad that you remembered me. We've only met one time. So I was afraid that I wouldn't make much of an impression for you to remember me."

"You think wearing full body leather blue suit is not enough to make an impression?" Minato said with a sigh.

"See, I told you, sister. Makoto-sama is a very smart individual." The young man besides Margaret said with a proud smile on his face. "By the way, Makoto-sama, why is your hair white?"

….

Minato stared at boy who's beaming at him.

"…Do I know you?" Minato narrowed his eyes at the young man.

"Huh? You remembered my sister, but not me?" The young man dropped his shoulders and sighed, but he picked himself up fast. "It's me, Theodore. Younger brother of both Elizabeth and Margaret."

"…That doesn't answer my question." Upon hearing the cold, cruel rejection, Theodore shoulders dropped again and this time he could not pick himself up.

"Huh?" Both Caroline and Justine came out from behind and saw their siblings. A genuine smile flashed on twins' faces, more noticeable on Caroline. "Sister?"

At Caroline's words, Margaret widened her eyes and looked directly towards the twins. Theodore looked like he saw something outrageous and profusely looked between the twin's and occasionally looked back to him.

"Sister!" Caroline ran towards her siblings. Justine also ran(walked fast)towards her siblings, following behind her energetic twin. But, both of them were stopped by the hand in front of them.

"Caroline, hold on a moment." Minato get in front of the twins.

"Gah, what now, convict!?"

Minato ignored her and proceeded, "Sure she looks and speaks like Margaret and while it's true that Margaret and I have only met once, confirming that doesn't necessarily make her, you know…'Margaret'." Minato said.

"Ah, Pardon me?" Margaret diverted her attention from twin and directed them to their former guest.

"You're pardoned, but, that's not my point." Minato corrected himself while Margaret and Theodore looked at each other, puzzled. "That god, Yalda-, ah, Yoda-, ah, no…, that god impersonated Igor, so what's to say the same thing isn't happening now?"

Margaret stared at their former guest in front of her for a moment. "Oh, my dear guest, I understand your dilemma, but I-"

"Ah, Yaldabaoth. It 's Yaldabaoth. I remember now."

"-can say with certainty that we are-"

"You know, I got it right in the first time. I don't know why I hesitated."

"Um?" Both siblings stared at the guest in front of him, then each other.

Minato turned back and looked at Margaret. "Oh, I'm sorry, you were saying?". A vein appeared on Margaret's face, but she soldiered on. "Ahem, before I was rudely interrupted, I was saying tha-"

"Give it a rest, convict." Before she could finish, Caroline cut in again with a shrug. Another vein appeared on Margaret's face and her mouth started to twitch.

"Yes, you don't need to worry Makoto-sama, we avatars of power can able to identify each others. The ones in front of us are our siblings." Justine added.

"You can?" Minato asked the twin.

"Yes, we can." Caroline answered with a shrug.

"Well, then, say sooner. Now I look like an idiot." Minato said back with an annoyed face.

"You always look like an idiot!" Caroline also snapped back.

"…Is that blasphemy? Does that count as blasphemy? I think that should count as blasphemy."

Caroline pulled a raspberry(rather maturely)at the Messiah in front of her.

"AHEM!" Margaret reverted their attention to her with a cough. She looked like she's ready to snap at any moment, although the only one who realized that is Theodore. "My guest, it is true that we can sense each avatars of power. I think you should believe what…they said." Margaret took one last look at the twin before looking back at Minato.

"Well, Okay then." Minato retracted his hands and pocketed them. His hair also changed back to his natural blue. And the twins finally ran up to their siblings.

Caroline tackled Theodore and with a wide grin, Justine also nodded towards her sister and turned towards Theodore, "Theo, I'm sorry that I failed to see the truth. We were blindly following the imposter's orders why you were in danger, I am sorry I cannot come to you sooner, for that I apologized. I hope you can also forgive me, sister."Justine, as a mature one, apologized first and foremost.

"It's okay, we were to blame as well." Margaret said back at her sister although she didn't turn away from the guest in front her.

"…What?"

"Please. Don't mind me." Minato weirdly stared back when suddenly the another boy in the room said.

"Y-yes, It's not your fault, Lave-, ah, I mean, ah-…", Theodore fidgeted awkwardly.

Minato looked at the scene with a face that showed no emotion. Theodore's situation got a lot worse. He sweated profusely and started to bite his fingernails, then he suddenly turned towards Margaret, and…he was ignored. He made a horrified face at his sister's cruel rejection but he didn't give up hope and turned towards Minato.

Minato stared at him with a face that says 'why are you looking at me?' Then suddenly a epiphany struck him and Theodore proudly turned towards his sister. "Yes, You don't have to worry about it." Theodore says with a proud face. "Caroline!", 'Annnnnnd fail.'

Justine now dubbed as Caroline looked at her brother in bewilderment. "Ah, I'm Justine."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, Theo. I know you are a bit of scatterbrained. But, I can't believed you mistook us."

"Ohhhh, ah, o-Of course, my sincere apologies, It-ah seems I-uh make a mistake, of course, you're-ah Caroline and she's Justine, of course, I remembered now."

Minato watched the sibling's exchange with a deadpan face. 'Wait, did he forget his sister name?…What?…Ohh.'

"Well, ahem," Minato finally spoke, "That was painful to watch." Margaret didn't say back anything, she seemed to be deep in thought." But, leaving your brother's idiosyncrasy aside, …where's Elizabeth?"

At Minato's question, the brother and sisters trio stopped fooling around and tensed for a moment. Even Margaret seemed to rattle a little.

"What?"

"Ah, Makoto-sama," Theodore timidly called out to him while carefully looking at his older sister.

Finally Margaret collected herself and breathed loudly, "Don't worry, Theodore. I will explain it to him."

"Hm?", 'That sounds bad.'

"Makoto-sama, after you chose to sacrifice yourself to make the great seal,…Elizabeth left the velvet room in order to find a way to save you from that fate." Margaret said this with deep sad voice.

"What?"

"Yes, Sister Elizabeth left us, her family, to save you, you should be honored." Caroline also said with a hint of anger in her voice.

Theodore watched her sister and him with worry. Justine surprisingly kept looking at Caroline.

And Minato…Minato still stared at them with his usual emotionless face, then finally he spoke, "…Why are you guys talking like it's supposed to be news? I already knew about that."

"Huh?" "What?"The exclamations of four velvet siblings echoed across the empty space and with that all the solemnity left the room.

"You knew?" Margaret asked with a dumbfounded face.

"Well, yes, even though I'm a…door, I can still able to hear and see, just couldn't interact."

"Huh!? Then why do you ask where Sister IS!?" Caroline loudly shouted towards the insensitive boy in front of them.

"What? I asked 'where's Elizabeth?' like where is she right now?"Minato answered back with a annoyed face.

"Makoto-sama, we cannot know the exact locations of people who left the velvet room. So we do not know where Elizabeth is exactly right now. Isn't she the one who freed you?" Theodore asked back quizzically.

"No, she's not the one who freed me. And I also know the fact that you guys can't find people. No, what I mean is like …isn't she supposed to be with you guys?"

"Ah, Makoto-sama, we told you that sister Elizabeth left the velvet room. So how could she be with us?" This time Justine took charge and answered back.

"No, I said I already know that. I mean, WHY are you guys talking in circles?"

"WHAT? You are the one who don't understand. Sister left the velvet room and we can't find people outside the velvet room." Caroline said it in a way a teacher would say to a preschooler.

"No, how many times do I have to say I already know that. What I mean is your master, ahhh, Your lord, that's not right, your master's master, ah, whatever," Minato helf his head in annoyance. "Philemon said that she was with YOU guys, HE'S the one who freed Me…albeit Temporarily."

As Minato dropped the Philemon's name, all the residents of velvet room looked at him with very(very) wide eyes and their mouths agape.

"Lord Philemon is the one who freed you?" Margaret looked like she couldn't believe if she didn't say it herself.

"So, you call him 'Lord', good to know."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!." Caroline shouted loudly.

Margaret continued while holding her head, "Unbelievable. I thought Elizabeth ran out of ideas and took your place as the seal to save you and drop you here without telling anything."

"That sure sounds like Elizabeth, but, no. I haven't seen her in a long time."

"Yes, if so, I think there will be a lot of explanations to do." Justine also said while signing theatrically.

"I suppose so." Minato said back with a sigh of his own."But, before we move on with any explanations,…Can I get a chair first?"

x-x

**After some time** **…**

"So, let me start upon how we escape Yaldabaoth's clutches." After explaining to Minato that they didn't have any chairs and they can't make any chairs and made him realize the fact that there's nothing to lean on in this space, Margaret got on with her explanations.

"Our master sensed your arrival when you came to the material plane. So, while we didn't know how you came here, our master seemed to believed that you will definitely cross paths with our captor. At first, we didn't know how he came to learn this, but if Lord Philemon is involved, I think the answer is pretty clear. We couldn't do anything to provide help to you, so we were waiting patiently for our chance to escape."

From there, Theodore took on the explanation, "You see, Our master has great trust in Makoto-sama, that he believed that even with most of your powers used to place the great seal on Mother Goddess, you can easily stand up against the false god. So, we were just doing the only thing we can do and thus, we waited."

"Oh, yeah…about that…."Minato cut in with a sour face.

"Huh! Easily?" Caroline also added with a smirk. "This guy got his ass nearly handed and beaten to shit more than I could count, even then he only won because we helped him in his fight, HaHa, it looks like our Master really misplaced his trust." Caroline finished with a smug face.

"Is that true?" Margaret asked Minato with a little glint in her eyes.

Minato took a glance at grinning girl before he continued."…While I don't particularly agree with her choices of words and uses of languages, I will admit that I have trouble standing up against him,…and if you must know I also have trouble standing up now."

"Makoto-sama, we've already discussed this.", "Sorry."

"Unbelievable, to think that he was even strong enough to give trouble to our esteemed guest. Is that even possible?" Theodore said with a clear surprise.

"Huh? Of course, why wouldn't it be possible for that imposter to be stronger than him?" Caroline asked her siblings.

But, the answer came from Minato. "Oh, well, let me educate you then." Minato said as he turned towards the younger or maybe older girl. "What you should know is that, I happened to be both a death god AND a Messiah. Plus with the power of wildcard. So, theoretically, the only beings stronger than me should be primordials like Nyx or…Zeus."

"Huh? You're that strong?" Caroline asked with a face like she didn't really believe.

"I wasn't finished yet." Caroline made an annoyed face but Minato ignored that and proceeded on." Well, I had to left most of my power at the seal to maintain it, but even with this limited power, I'm supposed to be at the level of a…Bel. So, yeah, a false god being this strong is unprecedented."

"So, where do you think this surge in power comes from?" Justine asked while also thinking to herself.

"Well, the most probable thing would be an accomplice. And I think this was the reason why Philemon sought me out.", Minato turned back towards the Margaret. "Anyway, continues."

"Yes, of course.", Margaret cleared her throat first. "While we don't question our master, we were, of course, skeptical of your coming. We know that Elizabeth is trying to help you but neither of us really believed she would be successful. And our master also wouldn't say anything in that matter."

Theodore again took over from this. "Hence, our reason in believing Elizabeth took your place as a seal. The last time we saw her was when she obtained the Fool arcana, so we think she finally obtained the same power as you and took your place as the seal. But, it seems we were gravely wrong."

"Hmmm, the last you seen her was when she obtained the Fool?" Minato cut in with a question.

"Yes, it was in Yaso Inaba, with Narukami and your friends from your journey." Margaret answered the guest's question with a calm voice.

"Huh?…Then I wonder why did Philemon lied to me then?"

"I don't think Lord Philemon lied. I would say he just bends the truth a little for you to take action." Margaret said back in not so calm voice.

"…And I would say, that's what you called lying."

Margaret glared back at the Messiah in front of her, but he didn't even faze. "Ahem, moving on." Then, she continued with her explanation. "Then we found out that it is indeed true that you would cross paths with our captor. We couldn't see how the battle would play out, but our master without a word prepared for our escape the moment your battle began. And, when you used the sealing spell on the false god, our master took his chance and broke us out from our holdings." Margaret breathed in for a moment. "And that's when things we could not have foreseen started to happen."

"Yes, indeed. Even our master was helpless in such a situation." Theodore said with regrets. "Although our escapes were easy, our master, not so. You see, when we were escaping a large amount of dark energy interrupted us."

"Dark energy? Those things that fall from the sky?" Justine asked her brother.

"Yes, they were the same ones our dear guest encountered. It's energy was so great that even us, avatars of power, can't do nothing in its wake." Theodore paused for a moment. "But, our master tried his best to get us out of there, and he succeeded but he, himself was left in that place." Theodore finished with a sad voice.

"But, our master doesn't left us with nothing though." Margaret continued as Theodore sadly turned around. "He split up his own power and sent it together with us to help.…But, we don't take account of the fact that the dark energy would even be in outside world so even that power was lost in the depths of human consciousness. And we didn't have time to search for it as we realize that, you, Makoto-sama was also in the mercy of that energy."

"Yes, we also found that one of- I mean, our sisters are also with you, so we craft this velvet space hastily and transport you together with our siblings."

"And, that's how, the events to this situation came to be." Margaret finished the explanations.

"…You didn't tell me how he get to the velvet room in the first place though." Minato said after a pause.

"That's because we also don't know how he trapped us or how he get to know the existence of velvet room."

"…What do you mean?"

"The velvet room exists between dream and reality. So, you could say it exists in this universe but at the same time, not. So, even if you, Makoto-sama, searches for this place with your arcana, you wouldn't be able to." Margaret answered the guest's question without missing a beat.

"Hm,I see…so, this was mostly useless then."

"Huh?"

"Well, we didn't learn anything new, and this just gave us more questions than it answered."Minato said back with a deadpan face.

"It's true that we didn't learn anything new, but the exchange of information is important if we want to decide our next course of action." Justine tried to rectify the situation which the Messiah called a waste of time.

"I think the only thing we can do from here is searches for the other wildcard."

"The other wildcard?" Theodore asked back in response.

"Justine will fill you in later.", Minato answered back quickly. "I will search for him, and when I found him, you guys just do your usual thing. Call him here and do fusions, spells, whatever ways you can help. And I will try to help him personally." Minato stopped and thought for a moment of what to say next. "And…I think that's all."

"Why would you want to help the other wild card though?" Margaret also asked Minato as he talked without explaining anything.

"I said Justine will fill you in later, didn't I?" Minato said back, annoyed. " Now, I haven't sleep a wink from the moment I got here, so I will go home now,…bye."Minato waved then turns around.

"Wait, Makoto-sama!" Margaret called out to him but he ignored her and left.

x-x

**Shibuya**

The streets of Shibuya are always filled with people whether its night or day. Even now late in the hour, the streets are filled with people, and the noise is deafening. So, not even one person noticed a blue haired boy appearing out of nowhere.

_"Destination, Mementos, added…You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."_ A mechanical voice echoed from the boy's pocket.

"Huh?" The boy checked his pocket and took out the thing that's making noises. It was his phone. 'I thought Caroline broke this thing.' The blue haired boy thought to himself as he checked his before broken phone, now being as good as new. 'Ah, whatever.'

Minato opened his phone and checked the app that made the noise from before. 'Hm, is it here before?' He spotted an app with red eyeball icon. 'Mementos? Isn't that what Justine called that place?' Minato tapped that icon and another voice appeared.

_''Navigation en route…Navigation failed, please try again later."_

"Huh?", 'Geez, what the hell is this thing?'

"Hey, what do you think happened to him?" "Isn't that shujin uniform?"

'Hm?'

"Does he get into a fight?", "He's not wounded though." People started to murmur around him. Minato checked himself and found out the reason.

'Oh,' Now he doesn't have any wounds on his body because he healed himself but, his outfits were another story though. His school coat was gone and he only had the white shirt from underneath the coat. And even that shirt was torn and burned in some places. His trousers were also spotted with large amount of cuts.

'Ah, I forgot that I was wearing this while I fought Caroline.' People were starting to take out their phone. 'No time to wonder about this app, I will have to get home first.'

…And with that Minato Arisato went back to his apartment with an awkward train ride, ignoring the look people were giving to him.

x-x

Tae Takemi walked out of the cafe while thinking to herself. 'Huh, it really isn't possible without test subjects.' The deadline for her medicine was drawing near and she still hasn't made any progress. 'And how the hell did Oyamada caught wind of this?' She has enough trouble trying to make a medicine from the ground up and her former superior with big inferiority complex was now giving her trouble.

"Maybe I should get volunteer students.…No, that will just give Oyamada the chance to shut my clinic down."

"Hey, what do you think happen to him?"

'Hm?' Takemi heard the old couple from the junk shop near her talking.

"Huh? Students these days, maybe he got bullied on way back."

Takemi looked at what the old lady from the couple is pointing at.

"Isn't that the weird kid from before?", Takemi unknowingly said that out loud. Yes, indeed. It is the pale kid she saw yesterday. He already looked near death yesterday. But, this time, he looked like he just fought with Death. '…Seriously though, did he fight with a boar?'

"Ara, Sensei, You know that kid?"

"Huh?"

It looked like the owner of the junk shop heard her talking. "Oh, not really, I just saw him yesterday."

"Now that you say it, I also haven't seen him before."

"Did he move in around here?" The old lady asked her husband. "If so, poor kid then. He just got beat up pretty bad on his first day." The old woman said with a sad voice. "What is this world coming to?"

'Hm, so he just move in around here. huh? …seriously what the hell did he do on his first day to get this beat up.'

"What a weird kid."

x-x

Minato walked fast as soon as he got out of the station, without paying attention to anything. Like anything at all. And as he got to his home, he went in fast like a blur.

He opened the door and entered and closed the door in two second flat. Then he turned around and the empty unfamiliar space that which he called home greeted him.

"…Man, isn't this suck?"

x-x

After taking a bath, Minato got out with a towel on his head. The bathroom was so small that he's not even sure if he bathed in the toilet or not. And he thought his apartment room was small.

The clothes from before had to be thrown out though. He didn't know anything about sewing and even then he left the coat in that place. But, that's not for concern though. Luckily, there are still spare clothes. And for some reasons, his phone is fixed and his bag,which he's not sure when did he lose it, is sitting peacefully in his desk. Now, he still didn't know what the weird app do. It's still saying navigation failed. But, he suspected it is some sort of warp device. Whether Philemon is the one who gave it or not is still in the gray though.

Minato changed his clothes from the box and walked to his desk. 'Nothing's lost, but, there were only books in the first place.' He checked his bag first before doing anything.

"*Sigh*" Minato sighed loudly as he lazily sat upon the chair, staring at the ceiling. "So…what now?", Minato checked the clocks and its already 9. "…I suppose I will just do what I do best." Minato got up and walked towards the wardrobe to take his futon out.

…and what's the best thing he do? Sleeping, of course.

-x-x?

….

…*Ding dong*

'…What?'

….

'Hahhh….'' Minato rolled to the opposite side.

…*Ding Dong*

'Do I have a doorbell?' Minato got up from his sleep as he thought he heard a doorbell. 'Must be my imagination.' He shrugged and went back to sleep.

…*Ding dong*

Okay, this time he didn't imagined it.

'Who would come this early in the morning?' Minato annoyingly got out of his futon and walked towards the door.

'Who would come at this hour?…Actually who even would come?' With these thoughts in his mind, Minato opened his front door.…and the four siblings of velvet room greets him. Justine and Caroline were looking around the place. Theodore was smiling sheepishly while looking at him. And Margaret was in the middle of pushing the doorbell when he opened the door.

….

"…Don't you guys usually call me in my sleep?" Minato said watching each and everyone of them before settling on the eldest. "Since when do you guys accept house call?"

"Ahaha, Makoto-sama, were you sleeping?" Theodore asked nervously.

"It's 3 in the morning, of course I was sleeping."

"This is where you live, huh, convict. Hmmm, Isn't this small?" After looking around the place Caroline rendered her verdict.

"…what are you guys doing here?" Minato asked with a very(very) tired voice.

"Ahem, we were just discussing with Justine and Caroline and we came to know many facts about the wildcard that has already started his journey." Margaret answered the question with a calm voice.

"Yes, and we came here because of that we may need to talk about our plan" Justine also added in.

"…What about the wildcard?" Minato asked back, now the tiredness in his voice gone.

Margaret looked at the young man in front of her carefully …and then she smiled smugly. "Justine will fill you in later." saying her piece, Margaret gracefully walked past through the stunned boy and into his room.

"What?" Minato looked back at the woman walking into the room. He stared at her for a minute or two before it hit him.

"…did she seriously say that to me?"

"You deserved it, Makoto-sama." "You sure do." Both Justine and Caroline also said their piece and followed their sister.

Minato looked back the two kids walking past him again. "What?"

"Pa-Pardon the intrusion." Theodore also smiled nervously and followed after.

Now alone on the front door, Minato stood there in stunned silence.

"…Those siblings gonna be the death of me." With that he also closed his door and followed after the others.

-x-x-


	8. I'm in Hell

**Aoyama-Itchome**

Many students of shujin academy were walking towards their school. Young girls were talking among their friends. Boys were goofing around. Some were trying to study with their notebook. Although that some was only one though.

Makoto Niijima is an honor student through and through. From a young age, she's always tried her best, never lazing around. She's always diligent, not wasting even a moment of her time. And her hard work paid off every time. As long as she can remember she was never, even once, falls from first place. Elementary, middle and now even in high-school, every step of the way, she is the first in whole school. Not only that she was also famous for being strict and she always follows the school rules. That's why even though she's a second year she becomes the student council president. For a second year student, there was no highest honor possible. And, even then she has never stop trying hard. No, its the opposite actually. Now as a both third year and student council president, she now has to try even harder, so many younger students can take example out of her.

"Hey, don't you think the boy in front of us is cute."

"Not cute, I would say handsome."

Although that seemed to be working hopelessly.

"Yeah, pretty handsome. Though I've never seen him before."

"Oh, maybe he's third year transfer student."

"A third year, ohhhhhh, he's gonna get a lot of first year crushes.…I called dibs!"

"You can't call dibs!"

"Yes, I can! Look at dibs in wikipedia!"

'Honestly, what are they even arguing for?' High school students shouldn't be talking about such things. Even more so for first year. This is a very important part of their life. This part will decide what they are gonna have to do with their life. Something about crushes and loves has no place in high school. '…But, transfer student?'

Makoto looked up from her notebook and a little farther from her is indeed the transfer student, whom she showed where the faculty office was yesterday. Although he looked even more tired and pale than yesterday.

"*Sigh*" Makoto sighed quietly and put the notebook back in her bag. Then she walked a little faster to catch up to the boy in front of her.

"Huh, isn't that Miss prez?"

"What? Miss prez? Why is she going after Senpai? Did she call dibs?

'Why are they still talking about that?' Makoto ignored them and proceeded to call out the boy in front of her. "Arisato-san?"

…but no reply came. The boy didn't even turn around and acknowledged her.

'Ah, what!? Wait, did he just ignore me?' Makoto looked at the boy walking in front of her like an unidentified species.…Then she found that he was wearing headphones.

'…Ohhh,…Although that was still embarrassing.'

"Ahem." Makoto cleared her throat and collected herself, ignoring the wired look the two first years before were giving her.

"Arisato-san, excuse me?" This time she called out to him by also tapping his shoulder.…And that seemed to work as Minato turned around and looked at her.

"Yes? " Minato took off his headphones and asked the girl calling out to him.

"Nice to see you again, Arisato-san, I hope you've been well." Makoto said politely but the boy in front of her just stared at her with a poker face. Sure, now that she looked at him, his face is pretty, of course. Enough to put a girl to shame. His skin is white as porcelain. His silver eyes and blue hair makes him look like a fairytale prince. He's neither too tall nor short. All in all, he looks like a perfect gentleman. But, that's no reason to neglect your study and daydream about a boy.

….

'Although why's he starting at me?'

Minato looked at her for a weird amount of time before finally speaking. "…uh, nice to see you, too.…Niijima-san."

"Ah, thank you for remembering my name." Makoto, of course, replied back politely. " If it's not too much to ask, shall we walk together to school?"

"…Yes, of course."

And they both walked together towards their school. But, of course. Makoto didn't stop her observations. She believed that there's no such things as perfect. She too, even though tried to appear as an honor student, she too has her hobbies which…she doesn't want others to know. Even her sister while always tried to look professional, has her own faults, too. And of course, the boy beside her is not perfect,too. While others may be blind to his faults, she sure is not.

Based on her observations, his half-lidded eyes, which girls would say mysterious and cold. But, in true, he's actually just sleepy. And his eyes look hazy and unfocused, which her sister would describe as not an attractable quality. And his posture is what people would say lazy. His demeanor, which others people would think soft and prince-like, is actually listlessness. He also seems to have trouble remembering people.…And based on the glances he's sending towards her, he's also appear to be socially awkward.

"Um," Makoto stopped her scrutinization for a moment. " Arisato-san, are you not feeling well? You look pretty pale."

"Um, I don't look okay?"

"Yes, actually, you don't look okay at all. You seem to be wa-"

"I'm not okay."

"Oh…o…kay."And he seemed to be pretty rude.

"…Sorry, I'm just not getting enough sleep." Minato apologized? with an annoyed face.

"Oh, what's the matter?"

"Well, I've just moved and…" Minato made an annoyed face again. "I just met some living problem."

"Oh, is that so?", 'I'm not sure what I should say in situation such as this.' Makoto thought to herself for a moment. "So, uh, you just moved in. I supposed you're not from around here, then. May I ask where were you living before?"

"…" Minato doesn't replied back for some time.

"If it was a diff-"

"Oh, I'm just trying to remember the name." 'Uh?' " It was…Tatsumi port island." Minato said that with visibly no emotions. Now, she doesn't know whether he'd lied about trying to remember the name but she didn't dig too far into this.

"Oh, my! Compared to the school from there, I hope ours doesn't let down your expectation." Of course, she knew the school from that artificial island. The school is the artificial island.

"Actually, it was too big. I think I will like it here better. Although I've only been here for just one day though."

"And, you hadn't have a tour of our school, right? Should I show you around?" Makoto asked the question as they got near to the entrance of the school.

"You will?…Really?"

"Great! Although I have something to do today, so is tomorrow fine with you?"

"Sure, it's not like I have anything to do."

"Well, then tomorrow it is. We will start after school." Makoto smiled back to the boy in question.…but, of course he didn't smile back. He just only nodded.

"Well, then please excuse me." Saying that Makoto walked towards the school leaving the transfer student at the entrance.

….

"First, it was Okumura-san and now, it's miss honor student. The transfer student is really rolling, right?"

Minato turned towards the annoying smug voice. It was the two students from yesterday.

"Although we are here since the first year, we didn't really dare to approach either of them. Must be nice to be handsome." The one beside him said with an equally annoying voice. But, Minato didn't said anything and just looked at them with a poker face.

"And, transfer student." The first one said with a long sigh. "Why did you leave us without saying goodbye yesterday? We were talking then when we turn around, you were gone. I don't know if it is a thing for handsome boys but you shouldn't treat us with such cold shoulders."

"Uh huh, and we were thinking instead of dynamic duo, we could be three musketeers."

"…What?" For the first time since the conversation started, Minato said a single word.

"Well, there's plenty of time for that, first we must introduce ourselves, I'm-

"Ah, Aren, we are late!"

"Huh, really, damn it! I don't wanna get shouted by Kamoshida. Sorry, transfer student, we must run. You know what, you are in class 3, right. We will come for you in Lunch break."

"Aren, hurry up!"

"Wait for us, will you?" saying that two of them left the blue haired boy alone at the school entrance.

….

"Well, could be worse." Minato shrugged and also walked into the school.

x-x

**Shujin Academy**

'Why did I say that?' Minato Arisato now at his classroom, In second period, for once in his school life he wasn't sleeping but actually listening to the teacher.

'I know she's a lot like Mitsuru-senpai, but... actually scratch that, she may be worse.' Minato slowly turned around and '…oh god, she's still looking at me.' He quickly turned back and acted like nothing happened. Well, tried.

" Arisato-san, The questio-"

"It's B."

"oh, uhhh,…co-correct."

Now, he had his share of people staring at him, mostly Ryoji but usually it didn't bother him. But, this time the one who's staring at him is Mitsuru with stalker tendency. On their walk to school, half of the way, she didn't talk.

Now he didn't like talking, anyway but she's just staring at him while occasionally nodding to herself looking pretty satisfied.…Honestly that's just awkward, and that's coming from him. But, that's also didn't bother him, no…uh-um, maybe a little.

Minato thought back to time he lived at the dorm. Living at the dorm with Mitsuru, it was actually not easy. For starters, he had to learn French. Then he had to watch how he eats, how he drinks, how he talks, how he sits, and how he walks. Although walking part is not working though. Although she said not to care about any of that in her room though. 'Anyway …Now do you see the problem?'

Minato again slowly looked at the girl staring at him, who also happened to be the student council president. '…You can't actually sleep in class in front of the student council president.' Now would his school life at Iwatodai would be always like this if he's in the same class with Mitsuru.…Maybe. But, of all days, it would have to be today.

" Arisato-san, can you solv-"

"It's 3.165."

"uh,… yes, it's correct."

"Hey, how did he solve that? I'm not even getting the first part done?" " Is he like a genius?"

Not paying attention to all the murmurs around him, Minato thought back to the night or morning of today.

x-x

**Hours Ago…**

"A Palace, you say."

"Yes."

Minato and velvet room residents are now in his apartment room. He was of course leaning on the wall. Margaret was sitting elegantly on his chair, while Theodore was standing behind her. Caroline and Justine were identifying…trying to destroy his toilet light.

"So, the Mementos is the starting point for all human's emotions. That's why there's not shadows, but actual personas."

"That is correct."

"And if one of the humans stray too far from what the collective desires, they form places based on their desires which is similar to that place but differ by their individuality. And those are called palaces."

…*Twip*...*Thwat*

"Greatly put, Makoto-sama." Theodore chimed in. *Twip*

"And in that palace, their desires freely roam, and the outsiders can will it into whatever they want with enough force."

"Yes, and you can also completely destroys their desires-" *Thwat* , *Twi-Thwat*…. "-which would make the palace ruler an empty husk. And that is which our wayward wildcard is doing."

"So, do you know ho-" *Twip* "Will you guys stop doing that?" Minato said to the twins.

"Sorry." With that both Caroline and Justine also took their place beside their sister.

"Well, at least we now know that the one Philemon intend me to save is not that one."

"Yes, but I'm surprised you didn't notice that. When I sent Theodore check the outside world's news, he found out that there are many cases where humans were killed in that way. I think they named it as psychotic breakdown." Margaret said.

"…Yeah. But, I don't usually pay attention to news." Or anything. " But, that doesn't change our priority. We should still search for the missing wildcard. We would meet that one sooner or later."

"Uh, yeah, about that." Since coming here, Margaret showed a clear discomfort.

"Sister, I will explain it to him." Justine said to her sister. "You see, Makoto-sama, we, avatars of powers are extension of our master. So, in a sense, we cannot create velvet room without our master or equally similar power."

"Really?…Then what about the place from before?" Minato said turning to the young girl.

"We were getting to that but you left us while we're still explaining." Margaret gave the stink eye towards Minato, and he tried to not look into that.

"That was just a temporary space we create using both of our power. It cannot last long without someone tethering it." After Theodore explained that, all four of them stared at him in unison.

"So,…exactly what do you want me to do?"

"We were going to substitute your arcana in place of our master's power. That's why we came here. To ask for your help." Margaret said back.

"Oh, Okay then." Minato said as he walked towards the velvet residents. **_"Universe"_** and summoned his arcana…And appeared a nearly depleted card.

"…." No one said anything for a moment.

"So, uh, how do you want to play this?" Finally Minato broke the silence.

"How is your power so much depleted when you just arrived here?" Margaret asked in disbelief.

"Well, excuse me. I had to fight a maniac god and two bloodthirsty puffs on the same day."

"Hey, who are you calling puffs!?", 'I don't think I need to point out who said that.'

"I suppose we can't use this then." Margaret said observing the card in front of her.

"What? Why? It doesn't need more than this, right?"

"Well, we can afford it but then you would have lose all your powers." Margaret said back.

"That's true, but we can refill it later, right?"

"Yes, you can refill it. But you shouldn't use so much that it's gone."

"Why? I will just become a human again, right?"

"That's true for most gods, but Makoto-sama, you are not exactly normal." Margaret said turning her attention from the card. " You don't have a soul, not anymore. So, the only thing that's connecting you to this physical plane is this arcana. You shouldn't use it recklessly."

At her words, Minato paused for a moment. "…well, it's not like I have a choice."

"But, I would still suggest you to still careful."

"Alright, I suppose.…So,…where are you guys living right now?"

"Uh." At Minato's question Margaret tensed.

"Oh, of course. If we don't have the velvet room we are gonna need some place to live." Theodore also said.

"I didn't expect Makoto-sama's arcana to be this used up. So, I didn't think ahead." Margaret said while shaking her head.

"Oh, then how about we live here?" Theodore said proudly said like he found the solution to all the world's problems.

"With convict?"

"Well, this is indeed the most viable course of actions."

"*Sigh*" Margaret sighed elegantly, shaking her head. "…And with that said, Makoto-sama, can we take shelter here?" Margaret asked towards the boy.

….

Minato stared at the eldest velvet attendant without saying anything. "The thing about not thinking ahead…that was a lie, right?"

"Of course not, we only said the truth so far." Margaret said putting on her best smile.

"…Okay, so you guys live here, but how are five people gonna live in such a tiny space?" Minato asked with now tired voice.

"Hm, I thought your place would be bigger…this kinda changes things." Margaret said while rubbing her chin.

"Hey, you just admitted to your lying."

"Huh, convict sure is useless, isn't he?"

"Oh, there are many rooms similar to this one beside us, correct?" Theodore asked his question.

"I don't know who lives there."

"But, we don't see anyone on our way." Justine said back.

"That doesn't change my answer, I don't know who lives there."

"Isn't Lord Philemon give you this place?" Justine asked again.

"well, it's not like he included an FAQ sheet, so how would I know? Besides I don't have keys to those places." Minato said back.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about it, Makoto-sama. Don't you remember? I'm adept at crafting things." Theodore said smiling.

….

"…That just makes me worry more."

"Great, now that the living arrangements has been decided. We have to move on to another matter." Margaret said while flicking her hair.

"Decided? The only decision you guys made was to illegally break in." Minato said with a little raised voice.

"Don't be a pussy, convict. We can watch ourselves just fine." Caroline said smugly.

"Can You!?"

"Ahem, the another matter is that I believe we may had an idea of what that dark energy is or rather who?" Margaret said stopping her sister and the messiah.

"*Sigh, You know who was it?" Minato asked while he took out his phone.

"Yes, although we had no way to make it sure. We believe it is our longtime foe, Nyarlathotep.'' As soon as she said that, the four siblings suddenly became serious. "You could say he's the nemesis of even Lord Philemon." Margaret said grimly.

….

"…You don't say?" But Minato said back in a bored voice while still checking his phone.

"Yes, this is an very important matter. So, I suggest you pay attention to it carefully." Margaret said while glaring towards the boy.

"*Sigh*" Minato sighed as he put his phone back. "Have you met him?"

"I may not have known him personally. But, all of us, velvet room residents have deep knowledge about him."

"Okay, then, I don't need to know this."

"What? Why?"

"You guys know him, right? And now that you guys are here, I don't really need to know this right now."

"But-"

"Look, it's late or…it's early. I need to go to school, and I need to sleep. Like I told you before, I haven't got much sleep since arriving here." Minato said with a tired voice.

"Didn't you arrive here two days prior? Haven't you sleep in that time?" Justine asked.

"…I was otherwise occupied."

"With what?"

"Stuff." Saying his piece, Minato walked towards the futon and tucked himself in.

And the four siblings watch in silence as Minato tried to cover his whole body with blanket until he's comfortable.

….

"…Before I sleep, you said that in palace we can change the desires into whatever we want?"

Margaret shook her head to collect herself first. "Uh, Yes."

"And that Mementos is a big palace for all of humanity?"

"That is also correct."

"So, in a sense…can you change what all of humanity desire as a whole?"

Margaret thought to herself for a moment. "Theoretically, it is possible. But that would be a massive undertaking.… Why do you ask, Makoto-sama?"

"Just a thought.…So, with that said, good night." Then he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"…He's rather eccentric, isn't he?" Justine said now looking at the sleeping boy.

"Well, Makoto-sama has been through so much." Theodore also said.

"…."Margaret also looked towards at the sleeping boy. " Yes, he's been through much.…But, anyway…" Then she turned around and addressed her siblings. "Our first priority is to find ways to recover the universe arcana. The wildcard will have to be searched as well but without the velvet room, our supports for them will be limited."

"And of course, the approaching danger of crawling chaos is apparent, as well." Theodore added in.

"There's also the false god and his wildcard agent. According to Justine, Makoto-sama didin't use a strong seal, and with his increased power, he may be able to connect to the outside world. And of course there's also the chance of him and crawling chaos to be accomplice." Margaret said while thinking to herself.

"And our master is imprisoned somewhere as well. And we had no idea where?" Now it is Justine's turn. " Looking at that we don't disappear yet, that means he's still safe but we can not know it for sure how long it will be?"

"And there's also what the convict said about someone trying to tell him to seal the imposter." Caroline also said nodding to herself. " We can't just believe him of course, but if another third party is here, this will complicated things more."

"Yes, and there's still not much we don't know. We can't really do anyth-"

"Hey" Before Margaret can finish, she was interrupted by the boy sleeping in his futon. All siblings turned around to the boy and Margaret asked the question.

"Yes, Makoto-sama?"

"Aren't you guys going to sleep?" Minato asked in a tired voice.

"Oh, we, avatars of power don't actually need sleep."

"Well, I do. So, shut up." Then Minato turned around and went to sleep again.

….

"Makoto-sama, you also don't need to slee-"

"I said shut upp!" The annoyed voice came from the boy in the futon again.

His politely asked request worked for a moment, before one of the puff became enraged. "…Eccentric, my ass! He's just a jerk!" Caroline said furiously.

"Um, Caroline please calm down." Theodore tried to calm down her sister.

"Theo, Let me go! I had to teach that jerk a lesson!"

"Uhuh-OWW, umm, Margaret please help!" Theodore asked for help from his trustworthy sister who just bluntly ignored him.

"*Sigh, this is getting nowhere." Minato sighed as he sat up. "Tell you what, we will devise a plan."

"A plan?" Margaret said. "To search for wildcard?"

"No. To search for my dreamland." Minato thought for a moment. "Um, can you guys turn around?"

"Why do we have to turn around?" Caroline asked in angry voice.

"Well, even I can't sleep when four people are glaring at me. So, turn around."

"What? That's ridi-"

"Uh uh, don't question me, just turn around. and yes, even you Margaret."

With enough persuasion, Minato managed to make all four residents turn around. "Now, just stare at the wall and… try to stay pretty." Then he lied down and tried to sleep again.

"…" Nobody said anything for a moment and awkward silence continues for some time.

"…."

….

"…."

Minato got up from the futon with a annoyed face."…Or you guys can tell me about what a Nyarlathotep is?"

"Great, then I will start from the very beginning." Margaret turned back around smiling. And her siblings followed suit as well.

...And that's how his second night or third morning on earth was wasted. Listening on and on about the guests of velvet room prior before him.

"…And that's when Tatsuya Sou decided to forget the bonds he forged and leave this reality so, the troubles brought about by the crawling chaos won't come again.… Now we don't know how he's here back again but that's all we know about the Nyarlathotep. Do you understand, Makoto-sama?" Margaret finished her explanation.

….

"Of course not."

x-x

…*Ding Dong*

"Well, this is it. Make sure you practice all of this. Cramming isn't good for your brain." As the bell rang, the teacher said her piece and moved out from the class room.

'This is ridiculous. I can able to live without eating but I'm sure cannot live without sleeping. …Okay, I will sleep through the lunch break. No one can stop me.'

"Arisato-san?"

'or not', "Yes," Minato turned towards the voice beside him, a girl in a pink cardigan.

" Are you okay? You looked really uncomfortable the whole time?" Haru said in a worried voice. "Are you not feeling well?"

"…Yes, maybe a little."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I made you help me yesterday when you're not feeling well." The girl said in a very apologetic tone.

"Oh, I'm not sick. I just don't get to sleep last night."

"Well, you sure look like you haven't sleep for months." Haru said laughing softly. "But, if you need to rest, you can go to the nurse office, you don't need to push yourself too hard."

"…Don't worry, I won't.…Thank you for the concern, though."

"You're welcome." Haru replied back with a bright smile then she took her stuffs out and walked out of the room.

Minato watched the girl as she strolled through the classroom, until she entirely vanished from his sight.

" _Ah, thank you for helping me even though you're busy, Makoto-san._ "

_"Makoto-san, are you okay!? I'm so sorry. If I'm better at supporting, this wouldn't have happen."_

_"Makoto-san, please don't push yourself too hard, it wouldn't do well for us if our leader is feeling unwell."_

Minato looked back towards the windows, staring at the sky. "…Aren't they supposed to be completely different people?"

Then with a sigh, he also stood up from his desk and went out of the classroom, muttering, " Why is it remembering about her makes me hungry? It makes no sense."

x-x

Minato watched the a single bread on a tray with dead fish eyes. "This is the only one left?"

"Yeah, you should've come earlier. It's like a battle royale here in lunch break." The woman from the cafeteria said without even looking at him. "Count yourself lucky there's one left for you."

Minato looked back at the bread and the woman again. By no means Minato was a picky eater but, one bread was not enough for his inhuman appetite. "Well, beggars can't be choosers." With that he reached for the lone bread on the tray…when another hand also reached for it.

"Uhh." "Uh!"

Minato looked at the other hand in the tray then his eyes followed up to the boy with yellow hair.

"Uhhhh, dude, you taking this?"

"…Yeah?"

"Umm, okay. Uhh, fine, then." Saying his piece the yellow haired turned and walked away.

"Wait, you can take it if you want though." At Minato's answer, the boy suddenly turned around with a child like smile on his face.

"For real!?" But, the boy steadied himself fast with a cough. "Ahem, I mean you sure?" The boy said, looking at Minato, studying his face.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Minato took the bread and gave it to him. "Here."

The boy took the bread with utmost caution never leaving his eyes off from Minato. And even after taking the bread, he did not stop looking at Minato.

"Huh? You a third year?"

"Yeah."

"So, you're the transfer student, right?"

"I suppose so."

"Hmph, figures." Then he took the money out from his pockets and slammed it down on the desk. "Thanks for the bread, don't regret it later." The boy walked back without even looking back.

Minato looked at the fleeting boy with his usual poker face. Then he turned towards the cafeteria lady. "Is there any place where I can still get the food?"

x-x

…*Thunk*

Minato took the bottle and looked at it quizzically. "How is drinking coffee gonna fill me?" Then he opened the bottle and walked towards the nearby bench.

'Man, this city sucks. First Yaldabaoth, then two wildcards, overcrowded trains, insufficient cafeteria and children pretending to be mature at home, I wonder would it be better if I just stayed at being the seal?' Lost in his own thought, Minato drank from his canned bottle again.

"Here." But he was broken out of his reverie by a girl's voice.

Minato looked towards the voice and a pony tailed girl with black hair was smiling gently while giving him a sandwich.

"What?"

"Hehe, think of it as my payback for you helping Sakamoto-san earlier." The girl said back.

"Sakamoto-san?" Minato asked back with a tilt of his head.

"You know, at the cafeteria. Yellow hair and with a punk face."

"Ahhh…is he your friend?"

"Weeellll, he's kinda sorta my friend." The girl said back with a sheepish smile.

"Kinda sorta?" The girl nodded and gave the sandwich to Minato again. And as he took it the girl sat down on the same bench.

"Him and I don't interact too much but He's friend with my best friend, so he's kinda sorta my friend."

At that answer, Minato just simply stared at her. But, the girl just ignored him. "He's a good guy but his face and his demeanor can make you think otherwise, and…" The girl took a more somber tone, " He's not exactly well treated around here. So, he's kinda always on the edge,…Anyway, thank you for putting up with him, heheh." The girl said back again with a dazzling smile.

"I am Shiho. Shiho Suzui. You are Arisato-senpai, right?"

"You know me?"

"How could I not? The mysterious transfer student, stealing girls' hearts at light speed." Shiho flashed a mischievous smiles and leaned closer to him. "I rarely believe in rumors, but you sure are pretty, almost like a girl."

'Uhhh, this girl is surprisingly straightforward.'

"Oohh, and look at your skin!" The girl suddenly took up his arm.

"Umm."

"Your skin is so smooth and so sooffttt, ahhh I'm almost jealous!"

'…is this count as necrophilia?.…I hope not.'

"You know my friend is a model. She would literally die to have skin like this."

"U-uh, is that so?" Minato said as the girl admired his supposed pretty skin but then his eyes caught something.

"…Did you hurt yourself?" At his question, the girl suddenly tensed and her entire demeanor shifted. "N-no." The girl said back with a tremble voice. "This is just from my t-training."

"Training?"

"Y-yeah. I am in the vo-volleyball team and our co-coach wants us to be better so, he's training us hard." The girl said putting up a smile but even someone who just met her knows it's fake.

Minato said nothing but just stared at her with his emotionless eyes.

"An-anyway, please don't be mad at Sakamoto-san, and I'm sorry for bothering you." The girl said as she stood up in hurry. " See you later, Arisato-senpai!" And She half ran, half walked back almost like retreating, possibly to her class.

Minato watched as the girl entirely vanishes from his sight. 'I've been doing this alot today, ain't I?' Minato opened the sandwich and took a bite. 'Now that I think about it, aren't there many students with similar wounds and bruises.…I almost forget about it with Justine and Caroline.'

…*ding dong*

The bells rang and Minato just got up with a half bitten sandwich in his hand and walked back to his class.

'This is surprisingly good.'

x-x

**Arisato Residence**

"Man, I'm almost afraid to open this door." Minato stood in front of his home door contemplating about whether or not to open it.

The school finished with no accident and he was not teleported to another dimension on his way either. 'Maybe It would be fine. They are not strangers to sitting on their butts without doing anything the whole day.'

Minato nodded to himself and opened the door. And as soon as he opened the door, a loud and annoying voice invaded his ears.

"Caroline, are you sure you should add this on the fried rice?"

"Huh!? How the hell should I know!?"

"Wha!? But you're the one who told me to cook fried rice because it supposed to be the easiest!"

"Yeah, but I don't think I need to put in anything. I thought fried rice mean you just had to fry the rice."

"Th-then why did you tell me to put this thing!?"

Theodore and Caroline were bickering at each other on the kitchen. And Margaret wass sitting elegantly on the chair with her eyes closed while drinking what appeared to be tea. Justine was nowhere to be found but she would also be at the kitchen with Caroline and Theodore.

"Oh, I forgot that I'm still in hell." At Minato's voice, Margaret opened her eyes. "Ah, welcome back, Makoto-sama. I hope everything went well on your school."

"Forget about it, what are they doing back there?"

"Well we are preparing a meal for our dear guest of course." Margaret said back with a smile.

"Guest? Aren't you guys supposed to be my guest?"

"Oh, hardly." Margaret said back with a little hint of smugness. " Lord Philemon gave you this humble adobe, so by extension we are the owners of this house while you, Makoto-sama, are our guest."

"What?", 'Did she just take over my house?'

"And so, as the tradition of humans, we would like to treat our guest with a nice meal.… and We also would like you think of us as family on your stay here. So you can think of this as family dinner of sorts."

"Family dinner, huh?" Minato said while looking towards the shouting siblings in the kitchen. Then his lips turned upwards into a gentle smile. "Well, how can I refuse?" Margaret also watched the boy with a smile on her face.

'Heh, If this is hell, I wouldn't mind being damned for eternity.'

"Ahh, ah, Caroline, My clothes are burning!"

"Wha? JUSTINE! WATER HURRY!…WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO WATER!? THEODORE! RUN TO THE TOILET!"

"WHA! AHHH-WAHHH!"

Minato stepped beside a little, so the boy with flaming back can run though. "Ahehe." Then he laughs with a soft voice. "Yeahhh, …Eternity for sure."

-x-x-


	9. Forgetting is never easy

**Velvet Residence**

…. *Munch*….

…. *Munch, Munch*….

….….*Mun-gck*….

…"Here's water."

…. *Gulp* , "Huhhh,…thanks."

"That's why I told you to chew at least 20 times when you eat rice."

"Shut up. You're not my mother."

The four velvet siblings and one messiah were now sitting together on the floor around a small table which was placed in the middle of the room, with Minato's futon tucked in the corner. Caroline and Justine sat together facing their older sister, while Theodore sat facing the young (actually no) Messiah.

"Soooo, What do you think, Convict? We are pretty good cooks, huh? Huh?" Caroline said with a haughty voice while smirking.

"Well,…I would have to say good job seeing that I am not dead yet."

"Hmm, of course. Of course. We did a pretty good job." Caroline said back completely missing the sarcasm.

"Please…" When Justine cut in looking squarely into his eyes. "Give it time."

….

"Ahem!" Margaret broke the growing awkward silence with a cough. "Anyway, onto the pressing matter." Minato stopped looking at the fried rice? in front of him and turned towards her.

"Makoto-sama, we checked what you ask for, and we discovered some interesting…for lack of better words, things."

Minato stared at Margaret with his deadpan eyes for a, no, about five seconds.

"I asked you to check what?"

"Before you went to your learning place," Justine interjected again. " You gave us your phone and asked us to check, you said and I quote, 'Weird eyeball thing'," Justine said without her face changing.

"Oh, right I did that." Minato said as he remembered about the morning after Margaret's explanation about…Tatsuo?

"Right, so what did you find?"

"It's called Metaverse Navigator." Caroline suddenly cuts in. "It's a navigator to the metaverse."

….

….

"…that doesn't really explain anything."

"I was getting to that!" Caroline angrily snarked back. "Anyway, remember what Justine said about Mementos?" Minato nodded and she carried on. "Well, seeing that you can't get there by normal means, and that's when this app comes in." Caroline said as she took out Minato's phone and put it on the table.

Then she opened the 'Metaverse navigator app'. "See, this bar where you can type?" Caroline asked towards Minato and he nodded back looking at the phone screen. "There, you have to type 'M-E-M-E-N-T-O-S', then hit the search button and suddenly you will be there!" Caroline said, although she wrote Mementos she didn't touch the search button.

"That would be if it worked as intended." Justine said while taking the phone to the front of her. "But, we've been trying that all day, it didn't take us to Mementos."

"Oh yeah, it didn't work when I tried that yesterday either. " Minato said with a glass of water in hand.

"Our theory is that the metaverse became unstable both because of its creator absence and Nyarlathotep arrival." Margaret said with her eyes closed. "And that's why we can't access the place."

"So,… how long do you think it would take to become…stable again?"

"It could be just days or even forever seeing that we can't actually investigate and also the fact that we can't be sure if the dark energy is Nyarlathotep or some other malevolent being." Margaret said back thinking while Minato just listened.

"…so this is just a…portal to Mementos, huh?"

"Hmhm, that's not all it does, convict." Caroline said wiggling her finger in front of him with a smirk on her face. 'Honestly, why's she looking so proud?'

"Not only Mementos but this app can also guide us to the human's corrupted hearts,…in other words, Palaces." Justine said with her stoic face. 'It's like looking in a little mirror.'

"Exactly! BUT! the process is a little different in this case." Caroline took the phone from the front of Justine again.

Minato looked towards at the Margaret while tilting his head. "…Um, we decided to leave those two with the explanations, giving that both me and Theodore only learn about this, just this morning.…And Caroline was very enthusiastic about explaining it to you by herself."

'Seriously, is she acting all proud because she knows something and I don't?'

"Blah blah blah, whatever. Look at this, convict." Caroline said as she put the phone in the middle so that everyone can see it. "See this, when in mementos you just have to type your destination, but if you want to go to a palace you have to type out three things." Caroline said pointing the phone like a kid explaining their grandpas how to use the modern phones…honestly that was not far from the truth as he didn't really know anything about this.

"Soooo, in the first bar, you have to type the name of the person whose heart you want to enter, and then you have to type the place which he thinks is his palace and, oh you have to be near the place, too then finally you have to type what the palace owner thinks of that place as?"

"What he thinks of the palace as?…isn't he gonna think his palace as…you know, palace?"

"Like I said yesterday, as all the human's desires are different, the palace that desires will take form will also be different."

"It could be anything, from just a normal house, car, ship or plane…"

"…to even stranger things, like jungle, space, the moon or even the sun." The twins explained back and forth.

"Huh, is that so?", 'I don't get it.'

"Basically, this acts as both a key and a door humans' hearts."Justine summed up their explanations. "Any questions, Makoto-sama?"

"Well," Minato said as he put down his glass. "I actually have several questions."

"What? How dumb are you?" Caroline said in condescending tone. "Which part you don't understand again?…AND don't you dare say all!"

"No, I get how it works (not really but still), what I want to ask is…how do we actually know if one has a palace or not?"

"We don't," Caroline answered with a shrug. "We just type the names and hope for the best. It's actually just a guessing game."

"…Fair enough. So, what about the place?"

"Ahhh, that would also be a guessing game."

….

"…And what he thinks of his place is also…"

"Yep, a guessing game."

"I see." Minato took the phone towards him. "So, this app is technically a guessing game, huh? …I didn't know god can make games, Ahahah!" Minato made some kind of gesture with the fork on his hand while widening his eyes just a little.

…But the siblings just stared at him…weirdly.

….

"…You know, it's a joke…"

….

"…because the app is a uh, guessing ga-"

"Makoto-sama, Did you hit your head on your way home?" Margaret suddenly cut in while he's explaining his joke.

"Uhhhh, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Because You don't do jokes!" Theodore said back. "I mean it's pretty surreal to hear you and Joke in a one sentence."

Minato didn't say anything back for a second. "Oh, Theodore I thought you were gonna stay silent for the whole night." Then he suddenly spoke.

"What?"

"You were not speaking the whole time, just staring at this fried rice while sweating. What's wrong?" Minato tried to change the subject and it seemed to work as the twins turn their attention at Theodore and Theodore making his best expression of surprised Pikachu face.…But, it did not work for Margaret as she stared the messiah with scrutinizing eyes…and he knew that.

"Wha-wha, I mean, nothing's wronnnggg. Everythinnnggg's fine." Theodore said nervously while looking everywhere but except him.

"Well, okay." Then Minato tried to eat his food again.

"Uhhh, uhhhhh!" When some weird sound came out from Theodore again. "Yo-you're still gonna eat that?"

"Relax," Minato said while putting on a gentle smile. "This is no news for me." Then he put the food in his mouth again while Theodore looking like he's trying to stop him. "Back in iwatodai, I used to eat food like this for breakfast,…and lunch. And now I'm eating for dinner, too." Then his expression became a little sad, as Margaret watched over. "…of course, the first time I ate that I was sent to ER but…now I feel fine." Then his expression turned to normal again.

"Really, you feel fine?", Justine cut in AGAIN. "You don't feel any nausea, urge to vomit or rampant desire to gouge your eyes out, rinse them and eat them by yourself?"

….

"…Seriously, what did you guys put in here?"

"Nooothinnngggg! We didn't add anything at all. There's nothing dangerous. Right, Theodore?" Caroline said turning for confirmation towards her brother.

"Huh!? Ah! Yes, there's nothin-nothing dangerous, yo-you don't have any-uh-things to worry a-about!"

"…okay." Makoto shrugged and continued eating again. "…Anyway, I also have something to share, too."

"What is it, Makoto-sama?" Margaret asked back politely.

"…Well, I found something weird at my school."

"You mean, other than you?" (You know who said that)

"…Yes. Other than me."

"Do carry on, Makoto-sama."

"…Well, I actually noticed this even before I met Caroline and Justine and both of you, but I guess I just kinda forget about that with everything that's going on." Minato moved his head around for a second. "There are some students, not much but not too little to be called normal either, and they were kinda mostly injured. And Again, these injuries are a little too much to be called normal, too."

Margaret thought to herself for a moment. "And why do you think that that is connected to our situation?"

Minato said nothing for a moment, just staring everywhere but nowhere. "…Remember how one of my friends got stuck in Tartarus?"

"Yeah?", "No."

"Hm?" Minato and elder velvet siblings turned towards the twins at their answer as Caroline said 'Yes' and Justine said 'No'.

"You knew about this, Caroline?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? It was uhhhh, that green haired girl, wasn't it?" Justine looked at her twin with wide eyes, when Minato cut in.

"Teal haired, but yeah. Yamagishi Fuuka." Minato said, while Justine was lost in her own thought.

"You think they are also wandering involuntarily to the metaverse, and that's where they got those injuries?" Theodore said.

"But, you can't really go to metaverse without this app!"

"…What about those from metaverse crossing over here?"

The siblings turned towards Minato. "…I'm just saying. What do you think, Justine?"

His question broke Justine out of her stupor, but she quickly recomposed herself. "…We can't also be sure of everything, but I think this sounds a little far-fetched."

"…." Everyone doesn't say anything for some time, then Margaret broke the silence. "Makoto-sama, is there any other reasons why you think we should be concerned with this?"

Minato thought to himself for a moment. "…Well, gods don't do anything without reasons and…I think there might be a reason for Philemon to get me in that school.…Maybe its not what wrong with the students but, the school itself."

"You think, this school may be the same as your old school?" Minato thought back to his old school which changes into a hundreds floors tower at midnight that's crawling with monsters as Margaret presented the question.

"…Maybe…"

"That's actually possible." Justine said back. "That school may actually be a someone's palace."

"But, if we want to check, should Makoto-sama test with everyone's names from his school? That would take a very long time." Theodore said thinking to himself.

"And there's nothing that say it couldn't be someone from outside the school." Margaret also added in.

"Well, like I said." Minato said while eating. "…I am still investigating. I'm just putting it out here not to leave you guys in the dark.", *Munch* , "We will get to it after I get something concrete. You guys just focus on the wildcard, uhhh, wildcards for now."

"As you wish, Makoto-sama. " Margaret said making a small bow. He doesn't know if it's genuine or if she's mocking him.

"…So, any leads on wildcards, either of them?"

"No, but we are sure that they are not near our vicinity. We don't feel anything when we went to market." Theodore said with a frown.

"I see…Hm?…"

….

"…What do you mean…'when we went to market'?"

"Hm? Us and Theo went to the market to buy ingredients, of course. What else?" Caroline said back to his question.

"…Ah, of course, of course…"

….

"…What do you mean 'Buy ingredients'? Did you guys steal them?"

"Of course not, Makoto-sama. We bought with our money like normal humans would."

"…Oh, you guys do have the money from compendium."

"Not really, we found some money in the closet and we just took them."

….

"…You took my money?"

"Technically, its lord Philemon's money."

Minato rolled his eyes and turned to Margaret. "I hope this is the last time you used that card because it's not funny anymore." Minato said towards Margaret but she just smiled back elegantly. 'That's it. She's mocking me.'

"Ahem, Anyways." Margaret said. " If we don't have anymore to discuss, we should warp this up. Makoto-sama has to go to school, tomorrow."

"…Oh." ,' Ahhhhh, she does care about me after all….…I know. I'm a sucker.'

"Yes, I still have to prepare the rooms for us." Theodore said standing up.

"Oh, we will help." Both Justine and Caroline said, doing the same as their brother.

"Well, I suppose I also must prepare the compendium." Margaret also followed suit. The four velvet siblings stood up from sitting around the table but they were all stopped by Minato.

"Wait, I still have a question left."

"What, Convict? Make it quick."

Minato paused for a moment, looking at the velvet sibling around the table. "This has been bugging me for sometime. And I still haven't figure this out, which is really saying something because…I'm really smart."

Caroline and Margaret rolled their eyes, as Justine asked the question. "What's the matter, Makoto-sama?"

Minato once again looks at the siblings, standing around the table…

….

"…Since when did we have a table?"

x-x

**…*** **Ding…Dong** *****

"Okay, that's it. Make sure you guys do your homework." *Yawn*

'Why am I always sleepy?' Minato yawned quietly as the class is over. 'Man,…School sucks. Better go home now, I'll just investigate tomorrow.' With that thought, Minato started to put his stuffs in the bag.

"Arisato-san, haven't sleep much today either?" The girl who sat beside him, Haru Okumura asked with a smile on her face.

"Not really. I only got about 8 hours of sleep."

"Umm, Isn't that enough?"

"Not for me, no." With that Minato finally finished putting his stuffs and stood up from the desk. "Well,…later."

"Oh, then see you tomorrow, Arisato-san." Haru said to him with a bright smile that could warm any hearts.

"Uh…?"

"What's the matter?"

Minato stared at the girl a little longer than normal. Then his lips curved into a small smile. "Yeah, see you tomorrow, Okumura-san."

The girl also stared at the boy's smiling face with madly red face for a little longer than normal. "Ahhh, ah, yeah. See you!"

Minato nodded and turned towards the door. 'The school may not be so bad after all.'

"Arisato-san, Are you ready?"

….

Minato turned around towards the voice to see the student council president standing before him.

….

"…*Blink, *Blink* Ready for what?"

"You know, the tour!"

"…ohhh, but you know, I was-"

"Shall we?" Makoto asked interrupting his sentence. 'Why does that smile look so scary?'

"Uh, sure…lead the way." Minato said putting up a forced smile.

"Of course. We will start from 1st floor first, then. Please follow me." Saying that Makoto Niijima went out of the room as the blue haired boy followed her close behind. 'Remember what I said about the school…forget it, this sucks.'

Haru Okumura watched their strict student council president and the mysterious transfer student got out of the classroom.

….

"Ehe, at least I got his genuine smile."

x-x

"Shujin Academy is one of the well-known schools in Tokyo. Many of its graduates are now in higher places of society. And of course, Shujin Academy is also famous for its strict discipline."

"Huuuhhhh…"

"Shuji Academy layout is not difficult to remember. The first years are on the third and us, 3rd years are on the first floor, with the second years on the middle. Of course, there's also the roof but it's off-limits for students, although that didn't stop trouble makers from going." Makoto said with a weary smile.

"Is that so…"

'This guy's starting to get on my nerves.' As a student council president, It's Makoto Nijima's duty to protect the students. That's why she had to act fast because it was looking like (to her), that Arisato was flirting with Okumura-san. But, of course. She knew all about how pretty boys like him…roll. They will flirt with almost any girls. But, he's might be a lot worse because he's not paying any attention to anyone who talked to him. The only one he's at least talk to is Okumura-san. 'Huh! Maybe he's after her money!'

Makoto turned around a little to look at the boy. The boy's just looking around with a bored face. 'I wouldn't think of such an innocent face hiding such intentions.' As she's watching, the boy suddenly covered his mouth.

'Hm? What is he doing?…Is he…trying to stifle a yawn?'

"Arisato-san, are you having trouble sleeping?", "*Cough!* Uck!" The boy suddenly made a startled noise as Makoto pointed out his yawning. 'Did he think I wouldn't notice?'

"Lo-look, I'm sorry. It was just an accident. It won't happen again. I will not yawn again in public next time. Please don't execute me!" The boy said as his face changed from worried to scared.

….

"What do you mean 'Execute'?"

"Huh?"

As she's watching, the boy's face changed from scared to confused to deep in thought to his neutral expressionless face again.

"…Sorry,…wrong person."

'Is he right in the head!?' Makoto looked at the boy in front of her quizzically. "Oh! Uh, wrong person. Is that so?…Uh, I see." ,'I can't understand half the words he's saying!', "Well. uh, well, there's really not much on the 1st floor." Makoto recomposed herself again. "You can reach courtyard and practical building from right here. And we passed the bread store on our way. And…I think that's about it."

"Let's continue from the second floor. Shall we?" Saying that Makoto climbed up the stairs. 'I don't know if he's dangerous or just plain stupid.'

And from behind her, Minato also followed suit, as he whispered into the air so that she wouldn't hear. "That was dangerously stupid."

x-x

"You must remember the faculty room, right?'

"Not really."

"Huh?"

"Huh?" Minato looked around the place he's in. "…Oh. Of course I do. I was just… joking."

'For a second, it sure looks like he really did forget.' But, can it be? He can able to answers questions without even looking at the board. He can do maths faster than her. She could even call him a genius. How can one such as him can be this scatter-brained?

"Oh,…it says meeting room here. Is it your meeting room?"

'Uh, for now, I will just observe him.', "No, this is for the teachers and parents.…Oh, Arisato-san, is your parents here or do you just live alone? I didn't find any way to contact you."

"…Well, I don't live alone but not with my parents, either."

"Oh, are they still in Iwatodai?" Makoto asked turning around towards the boy.

"…Well, they are." A sad smile appeared on Minato's face.

Makoto looked at his face for sometime before it hit her. "…Oh…I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"Oh, don't worry." Minato said back to her with the sad smile still on his face. "It's been too long. I'm already over it." Then his sad smile changed into a genuine smile. "Besides, we can't let past specters hold us from moving forward."

'…hm…', "Aheheh, Arisato-san, you sure are strong. As for me though, I don't think I would get over it no matter how long." Makoto said looking towards the ground.

Minato looked at the girl with his usual unreadable face after hearing that. Normally she hated them when they look at her like that because she didn't need their pity. But, this time she didn't really mind, and this might sound a little selfish but, after all they were in the same boat.

"It's not a matter of getting over them or not." Makoto looked at the boy. "…what matter is, like I said before, you shouldn't let them hold you back from living your life. You only got one after all. Don't waste it thinking about people who won't come back." Minato said with a gentle smile.

"…Hnngh, Arisato-san…I really couldn't read you at all. One second you are spouting nonsense and then, suddenly you looks like you are wiser than all of us here."

"…Well, if it's any consolation, you are not the first one to try and fail." They both laughed a little together as a soft laughter filled the place.

….

"Well, we have not finish the tour, so let's go to the library. It's on the first year floor."

x-x

"Are you an avid reader, Arisato-san?"

"You could say that.…I've read whatever chance I got before but…I think I may be a little late behind…"

"Well, I hope our modest library can provide you with what you need and If you need some other books, you can put a request on me."

"You can do that?"

"Well, if I can. I couldn't guarantee anything, of course."

"Huh, I do appreciate it…And talking about that…Can I ask you why we're standing at the entrance and not inside of the library?"

….

"What do you mean? We can't enter the library and talk, it might disturb others and the library is a great place for studying. We shouldn't intrude upon them." Makoto said back with a tilt of his head.

"…Oh, that.…Of course I knew that.", 'Really?'

"I didn't expect less of a fellow student council member."

"Hm?"

"You were a student council member before, right?"

"Well, not officially.…I just helped them if they need something."

"But, on your papers, you are listed as Vice-president, secretary and treasurer."

"Ugh.", 'Damn it, Mitsuru…or is that Philemon?', "Um, like I said it's nothing official, just some help with the members."

"So, what do you say? Would you like to join our student council?" Makoto said back with a smile. 'Why's she ignoring me?'.

"Well, I've only been at this school for three days, so I think I might not be qualified." Minato answered hoping that it might work…

"Just leave it to me to decide whether you're qualified or not." And it didn't work. "And if you're not familiar with our school, I'm doing this tour for you now, aren't I?"It sure didn't work. "But, still I'm surprised. Kendo, track and swimming. I must admit I didn't see you as someone who be interested in sports."

"Well, appearances can be deceiving." For example, a harmless frail student might be a death god. That's not true. That's just purely hypothetical (It's not).

'Oh, wait! Now's my chance…', "Saying about sports,…Niijima-san…this school has a volleyball club, right?"

"Oh, Piqued your interest, did they?" Makoto said with a proud (smug) face. "Our volleyball team this year is very talented. And most of all, our present coach is also very drove to win the nationals.…What? Arisato-san, Do you want to join?"

"Not really. It's just as you said. It's just 'Piqued my interest'." Minato said back making air quotes. He didn't mean to. He just felt like he wanted to.

But, the girl before him didn't seem affected. "Well, I've already planned to show you the gym. Nothing's like the present, then." With that Makoto headed for the stairs.

'This is a little ahead my schedule but…I suppose it doesn't matter. And Niijima-san seems oddly…wait,' "Niijima-san?"

"Hm?" Makoto stopped walking and turned around. "Is there a problem?"

"…What did you mean by…saying 'On my papers'?…Students aren't able to look at other students' documents, right?"

….

"Oh, silly me. The gym is more closer to practical building. We could just move from right here." Saying that Makoto turned away from the stairs again.

"Oh…is that so…, wait, please don't ignore my question."

x-x

"Mishima! What the hell was that supposed to be!?"

"Uh! Sorry, Kamoshida-sensei."

"Tch. What a useless kid." Then he turned his attention to a female student. "Suzui! Are you blind!? Focus on the weak font!"'

"Yeah, sir!" Saying that Shiho jumped and strikes the ball into enemy's court. *Bam*

"MATCH! *whistle*" Kamoshida blew the whistle loudly.

"Hnngh, hnngh…" as their match's over, Shiho also collected herself by wiping sweats from her brows. Shiho looked towards their coach to see him walking towards Mishima-san while muttering various kinds of profanities as the boy cowered in fear, nervously looking around.

'He's gonna get beaten again, isn't he?' It pained her to both say it and admit it but Kamoshida-sensei abusing his students physically was not a new occurrence. Even she was included in it.

Shiho unconsciously touched the bruises on her face. *Creak*

As they heard of a sound of the door opening, Kamoshida stopped cursing and turned towards the door, as she, too, looked towards the door. 'Is that senpai…with…Niijima-senpai?'

"Really? A prosecutor?" Minato said turning towards Makoto.

"Yep." And she replied back with a small smile.

"A prosecutor…like with, uh, with the police?"

"Hm?" Makoto turned towards him. "Aren't all prosecutors with the police?"

"…True enough." Minato said back with a small laugh while scratching his head. 'Hm, they seem…chummy. Huh,…I don't like it.'

"Okay. Again, from the top." At Kamoshida's voice, Shiho turned around to see the man walking towards the duo with a wide (fake) smile.

"Niijima-san, what brings you here?"

"Oh, Kamoshida-sensei. Sorry to intrude, I'm just showing transfer student around."

"Transfer student?"

Minato looked at the man then introduced himself. "Minato Arisato…from class 3."

"Class 3? Ah, Chuuno's new kid. Suguru Kamoshida." He said as he extended his hand. "A pleasure to meet you."

Minato looked at the extended hand for a moment before following suit. "…It's a pleasure for me too."

"Arisato-san, as I said before, Kamoshida sensei is an olympics gold medal winner."

"Oh…is that so…" she can't tell if he's impressed or not, because his face was just the same.

"Hahaha, no need to compliment me so much. It's just an old trinket from long past." Kamoshida said lying through his teeth. "So, new kid, interested in joining the team?"

'Huh, Senpai gonna join the team?' Shiho turned her attention from their practice match.

"Sorry, that's a hard pass."Minato said back almost immediately. '…was that a yes or no?'

"Hahaha, figures. You look like you couldn't even walk straight." Kamoshida didn't miss his chance to put other people down. But, Minato didn't seem even a little bit concerned.

'…So, that's a no.' Part of her was disappointed that he won't join, while another part of her was relieved that he won't have to go through his school year like them. And another part of her was completely confused by what he's doing now.

While Kamoshida and Makoto were talking among themselves mostly about school stuff, Minato was looking around the place wildly as if he's searching for something. Their eyes met for a second, but he didn't react either because he didn't notice or he just ignored her.

'What's he doing?', "Suzui-san! Look out!"

"Wha?", "Hm?", "…." Shiho turned around to see a ball right in front of her face. "Ah-Oof!"

"Suzui-san!" "Suzui!"

"What the hell are you idiots doing!?" Kamoshida shouted as he ran up to her. "Suzui, Are you okay!?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She said back holding her head.

"But, you should at least go to infirmary even if it's nothing." Makoto also said as she reached near her.

"Okay, then I will take her there."

"Oh, please don't trouble yourself Kamoshida-sensei. I'll just take her there." Makoto said as she sat near Shiho holding her up.

"Th-thank you, Senpai."

"Oh, that's not a concern."

"But,uh…, oh! Aren't you showing around the new kid?"

"It's fine. I've already shown him most of the school already. Arisato-san, is it alright with you if we stopped the tour here?"

….

"Arisato-san?" Makoto turned around as she didn't hear the boy's answer.

"Hm?" Minato stopped looking around and looked towards her.

"I said if it's alright with you to stop the tour here?", 'I wonder what's he looking for in the first place?'

"…Of course. No problem."

"…Okay, then." and It looks like she's not the only one who noticed Minato acting oddly. "Ahem, well then please excuse us, Kamoshida-sensei."

….

"…Transfer student, huh."

x-x

**Velvet Residence**

Minato opened the door with a click. "I'm back." He said in a lazy voice as he entered the house.

"Oh, welcome back, Makoto-sama." Margaret said looking up from the table.

"…where are the others?" Minato said as he unceremoniously dumped his bag on the floor.

"They are with Theodore, checking if other rooms are in a condition to be able to live in."

"Seriously. You guys went through with that?"

"We do need a place to rest after all."

"Hmmmm," Minato sighed as he took out a change of clothes from the closet and went into the bathroom.

"But, you don't have to worry about anything. Justine and Caroline gonna stay together in one room and one room for Theodore and I don't need one seeing that I'm going stay here. So, we only took two rooms." *Clang*

Minato came out from the bathroom in the middle of buttoning his shirt. "What do you mean you're going stay here?"

"Well, we must have someone to protect you."

"I don't need protection."

"Hmph, we'll see."

"HAhhhhhh," Minato sighed as he, again went into the bathroom.

"So, do you find anything from your investigation today?"

"Yeah, I did." Minato shouted from the bathroom.

"What did you find?" Margaret said back in response.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, nothing." Minato said as he came out of the bathroom. "I went to the place most of the injured students gather…to check for any shadow activity." Minato said as he went to sit in front of Margaret.

"And?" Margaret asked as her eyes follow the boy.

"And when I reach there…I kinda realized that I don't know how to check for shadow activity."

….

"So, it was kinda a waste of time." At Minato's answer, Margaret let out a theatrical sigh. "Don't give me that, what about you on your end? Any wildcards leads?"

"Actually we do."

"Oh."

Margaret paused for a moment. "We can say with complete certainty that, at least the wildcard we're looking for is not in this city."

"…Both of them?"

"Well, one of them. The other we can sense but it's too muddled to actually pinpoint his location. We think it must be the false god agent."

"…well, at least we got something."

….

The room got silence as neither of them said nothing for sometime.

….

"…So, Makoto-sama. Are you making any friends at school?"

"What are you, My mother?"

"I'm just asking because of a theory I have." Margaret said as she looked at the Messiah in the eyes. "Seeing that you got your arcana from your social links, I think this might also work in this case."

Minato made a weird face at Margaret. "…That's not much of a theory.…That's like way too obvious."

"It doesn't matter, Are you making any friends at school?"

"Wel-" *Knock, knock*

Minato and Margaret turned towards the door. "Sister, it is us." Theodore voice came in before he opened the door.

"Oh, the convict's here already?" Three of them walked in and sat in their respective places.

"Welcome back, Makoto-sama." Justine said as he only nodded. "May I ask what are you two talking about?"

"I'm just asking Makoto-sama if he has made any friends at school."

"Oh, the way to regain the universe arcana."

"Yes, so, Makoto-sama?"

Minato didn't say anything back for a moment, just staring at the ceilings. "…Well, I do."

"Really!?" Caroline suddenly shouted. "You got friends!? With that attitude!?"

"…." Minato turned towards her with an exasperated face. "You do know that I'm only here because I hav-had friends." Caroline rolled her eyes at his response. "Anyway, that's not gonna work because, one's fine but the other's is sort of a landmine."

"Why?" Justine asked the messiah.

"Turns out her sister is a prosecutor…who works with the police because apparently all prosecutors work with the police." Minato said rolling his eyes.

"So?" this time it was Margaret who asked.

"No, it's not so. I think her name was Sae or something."

"No, that's not what I'm talking about." Margaret said with her eyes twitching. "What I said was a question…'So?'.

"…Soo, Well, what would you, as a sister would do if some new guy you've never met before is getting close with your sister?" Minato said back.

"Talk all the bad things about him in hope that she would leave him?" Theodore cut in with an answer and all turned to him. "That's what Margaret did with Elizabeth, although it didn't work.''

….

Everything got suddenly quiet.

"Hm, did I sa-OOF!" Before Theodore could finish, a book went magically crashing into his face.…Nobody saw how did that happen. Nobody can understand how did that happen. (well, I do but…she was kinda looking at me rather scarily).

"Well, that's also true but what she would do is check if that new guy's background clean, you know, any crimes or bad records."

"Would she really do that?" Justine asked.

"Maybe, maybe not but we can't entirely rule out the possibility."

"So, what?" Margaret said fixing her hair that is surprisingly in a mess, "It's not like you have any criminal records."

"No, I don't have any criminal records but I can't let them check my background."

"Why?"

"Why!?" Minato asked back with a face that he couldn't believe what he's hearing. "Well, for starters, if they check my background, they would know that my back is literally on the ground.…Seriously it is 5 feet deep in the ground!"

"Really? 5 feet?"

"What do you want me to say?" Minato turned to Caroline while sighing loudly. "It's not like I was there to see it.…I mean I was there. And…I'm still there but…Ugh, Justine you get what I'm saying, right?"

"Um?" Justine looked surprised as she got suddenly questioned. "Uhh…Kind of."

"But, Makoto-sama, It's not like we had a choice. The repairment of universe arcana is of utmost importance. We can't be picky."

"I am not picky. Didn't you listen to what I just said?"

"Makoto-sama…" Margaret said without turning her eyes away from him.

"Why are you giving me that look?"*Stare* , "I said I'm no-"*Bam* Margaret suddenly stood up and slammed the table. "Makoto-sama!"

….

Both of them stared at each other without moving as the twins watched them uncomfortably while Theodore was passed out beside them.

….

The staring contest continued for sometimes before Minato surprisingly broke the silence. "*Sigh* , Okay. Fine."

Margaret also sat back down. "You ready to admit?"

Minato didn't say anything back, not meeting her eyes. "I suppose…she reminded me too much of her." Minato said with a sad tone.

….

"…I don't know who you're talking about, but…" Margaret said looking the boy directly. "…you of all people should know that they are not the same person."

"I know they're not the same person. I know they are completely different people, even their arcanas are different. But…uh…in the end it doesn't matter I guess.…It didn't lessen the pain…." Minato said again looking at the floor.

….

"You don't have to bear that pain alone anymore, Makoto-sama. You are not in a seal waiting and hoping that one day, your salvation would come. You are now with us, right here, Right in front of me. So, even if one day, there comes a time when you have to bear that pain alone, just for now though,…know that you are not alone…not anymore…not with us here…not with me here."

Minato just stared at the woman in front of her with silver eyes.…"Hnnghhh." Minato sighed again. "Fine, I will give it a try. You happy? You just made your god sad today." And he said that with a smile on his face.

Margaret didn't say anything back. She just stared at the messiah in front of her with a smile. A very lonely messiah with a smile that could put heaven to shame.

Minato didn't say anything back and turned towards the moon that's shining on the sky through the window. 'A year, huh. …I hope they didn't find out about of me, but…' With Minato thinking that, everything is silent with nobody saying anything, just living in a gentle bliss with Margaret looking at him and him looking at the moon.

'Not alone anymore, huh…so you do care about me, Margaret…'

….

-x-x

….

….

Caroline nudged her twin. "*Psst* , Hey, Justine! What do you think we should say!?"

Justine also nudged back, "Just be quiet, Caroline!"

-x-x-


	10. An Outcast and An Stranger

…*Drip drip*….

"It's raining, huh…"

…*Drip*….

"Indeed, it's raining…"

…*Drippp*….

"It's rain-", "Shut up, Theodore." Theodore suddenly stopped talking at their sister's irritated voice.…Looked like she's still angry about his comment at last night.

….

…*Drip*.…

"That reminds me. Did Makoto-sama take an umbrella?" Margaret asked turning towards her siblings around the table.

"Noooooo. He just said 'Later, Losers!' And… went out." Caroline said in a incredibly bored voice.

"Did he really say that!?" Theodore asked in surprise.

"Of course not. Stop being so gullible all the time, Theodore." Margaret said with a frown. "…And Caroline, stop messing with your brother."

"S-sorry, Margaret.", "Whatev."

Margaret let out a tired sigh. "Now I see why Master never made all of us attendants at the same time."

"But, Sister, you have nothing to worry about." Margaret turned at her sister's monotone voice. "Makoto-sama is not a mere human, after all. What's the worst a little rain could do to him?"

Margaret thought to herself. "True, but…in appearance, he is a mere human student. It would look weird if he's walking like a turtle in the rain and not get sick."

"Well, we could say he has good immune system."

"That might work with my previous guest but…have you seen him? He looks like a girl and walks like a girl. Every time he walks, it looks like he could fall down at any moment. No one's gonna believe that he's not frail."

"Then, we could say he's an idiot. I mean it's true." Caroline said but Margaret ignored her and proceeded her own line of thought.

"I mean, Why the hell couldn't he walk straight? Is it too hard to walk like a normal human!? It's not that he's weak! He's just lazy to even carry his own body!" Margaret started to rant like a nagging mother. "And his eyes. His eyes! Why is he always sleepy!? He's a god! He doesn't need to sleep. Everytime I went to wake him up, He's like a child, 'Five more minutes…five more minutes'', well guess what! that's what you said fifteen minutes ago!"

….

Theodore and the twins looked at each other uncomfortably. It was clear that making their sister the Messiah's sole bodyguard was taking a toll on her mental state.

"Uhhh, Margaret, we could take turns you know. You don't have to be the one staying with Makoto-sama everyday." Theodore said in a nervous voice.

"*Sigh* , It's okay." Margaret calmed down herself. "I can handle it." After that, the four siblings did not talk anymore. Just watching the rain fell from their windows.

….

…*Drippp*….

"It's raining, huh…"

"Indeed, it's raining…"

x-x

At the rain pours down on the city of Tokyo, People walked about on the streets with their own umbrellas. Some students of Shujin Academy are also with their own umbrellas, while others are just taking a shelter from the rain. Among them, a beautiful young girl wearing a beam hoodie is walking on her lonesome, while carrying her umbrella.

Some people said rainy days can make you sad. But, it is certain that the sadness on the girl's face is not only from the rain.

Ann Takamaki walked alone on the rain slowly, almost like a turtle. She couldn't pay any attention to any of the students walking around her. Her mind is clearly on somewhere else.…Well, that's just an excuse. The true is, she's trying not to pay attention to the students walking and whispering around her.

"Is that Takamaki-san?", "Huh, of course she's gonna try to make it work with that pretty face of hers."

"Even with a teacher, really!?"

'…*Sigh* , Honestly at this point, why don't you guys just say it right in my face?' Ann thought to herself, as she continued walking in a slow pace, hoping that they would get past her and just leave her alone, so she can get to school in peace. '…actually it just like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.' Of course, if it's this bad on their walk to school, it's gonna be more worse when they reached the school.

'…But, still, is five minutes of silence too much to ask?' You think being a half foreigner on school would make her popular. Well, actually she's popular. Just not in a good way.

"I hear she will sleep with anyone who gives her enough money."

"REALLY!? Damn it, I just used up my savings on buying that Mariko figure."

"…Dude, a weather lady's figure!? Just buy idol figures like normal people."

"Whatever, don't try to stand between me and my love."

"And Isn't she like…have a boyfriend?"

"It doesn't matter!"

'Whoever you are Mariko, I will pray for you and your boyfriend next time I get to the shrine.' Thinking that Ann walked even slower so the boys talking behind her can walk past her.

Walking this slow, she might be late for school, but it doesn't matter.…The school sucks. It might even be the worst school in Tokyo. Even the teachers are bad.

As Ann's thoughts turned to the teachers are Shujin, her thoughts turned to one man in particular. "That sucmbag…" she muttered those words through gritted teeth. Then her thoughts turned to her only friend again. 'Shiho…'

As she was thinking about her friend, the wind suddenly blew, and lost in her own thoughts, her umbrella loosened from her hand and was blown to the street beside her.

"Ah, shit!" Ann pulled her hoodie up immediately, then she ran towards her umbrella in the middle of the street. 'Geez, today's gonna su-*Crunch*…

….

"…Huh?" Ann froze in the middle of her running, with her arms out, staring with wide eyes at her poor umbrella that is snapped into two parts because of a boy that ran over it.

…And said that boy is also stuck in his running pose…in the middle of the street…soaking wet from head to toe…with an annoyed expression on his face.

….

"Ahhhh" Ann can't say anything back but muttered something incomprehensible because the whole thing looked ridiculous.

But, her voice was heard by the boy because he turned to look at her, still frozen in motion. And it was lucky that she was on this side because if she's on opposite side, the boy wouldn't see her because of his weird hair that covered half of his face.

….

"…Can you…tell me what did I just step on?"

"Uhhhhh, My umbrella?"

"…Oh…" Ann stared at the boy weirdly and the boy also stared at her with a deadpan face…still standing in the middle of the street…in the rain. 'Today's off to a weird start!'

x-x

…*Drippp drip*…

The rain is still falling from the sky. Although now it's less than before.

She could probably run to school with her jacket and then she could probably not be late to school.

'Yeah…but, now it's kinda awkward to leave.'

Ann looked at the boy that's standing beside her. It's not that they are still standing in the rain. They are now under a overhead roof, using it as a shelter for the rain.…Well, she's using it as a shelter. She didn't know what the boy's doing. He's practically soaked to bone. She's not sure what he's sheltering from. It's not like he could get any wetter.

The boy, to her surprise, had said nothing for the past five minutes. He had his hands on his pockets and staring at his front with lifeless eyes. '…Did he pass out?'

….

"Ummmm?"

"Sorry I broke your umbrella.", 'Oh, he did not pass out.'

"Don't worry. It's okay, It happens."…Well, she didn't know how one could not see the umbrella in the middle of the street or how one could broke any umbrella just by running over it or just how you run over an umbrella.

"…Can I pay you back for the umbrella?"

"OH! No, it's fine."

"…No, I insist…"

"No! Seriously it's fine! It's not that expensive!"Ann raised her voice a little and the boy got suddenly silent. '…Did I go a little too far?' She's not really lying about that. It's true, it was just a normal plastic umbrella. Even a burger is more expensive than that.

"…I see." Saying that the boy turned again and went back to staring at his front.

'Why did I make it more awkward!?'

….

"So, uhhhh, what are you waiting for?"

"I'm not waiting for anything…I'm just thinking of ways to help you…"

"Oh,Uh, like I say you don't have to worry about that.", 'Seriously, you don't.', "And besides, you're gonna get sick if you stay in that drenched cloth." Ann said pointing at the boy's dripping clothes.

"Oh, you have nothing to worry." The boy said turning to her with something akin to…smug? face. "I have good immune system."

….

Ann looked the boy's body at and down. She is being generous calling that 'body'. He might even be thinner than her. "No, really. You don't have to lie for my sake. You can really go."

"No, why would I lie? I do have good imm-"

"No, seriously You don't hav-"

"No, I'm not lyi-"

"I told you, you're gonna get si-"

"I've never been sick in m-"

"Your skin looks like mil-"

"Just believe me!" The boy said, finally changing expression for the first time.

….

"Okaaayyy." With that both of them continued staring back at things from before…which is nothing. 'This time, it's not my fault.'

….

The awkward silence continued for some time.

….

"So, Uhhh, why are you running in the rain?", 'I'm sorry, I can't stand the silence!'

"Because I was late…"

"Oh, ahaha…Uhhh,…"

….

"Any particular reasons…?"

The boy's expressionless face changed into annoyed face. "…The one freeloading at my house didn't wake me up sooner."

"Oh, ahahaaha. That happens…Sometimes…usually.", 'Continue! For god's sake!"

….

The awkward silence, now turned to suffocating silence and continued to reign once more.

….

'…Someone help!'

….

'Someon-', "Arisato-san?", 'He's here.' Ann turned towards the Messiah that had grace her with his appearance. …But, turned out it's a she. It's their student council president, Makoto Nijiima.

"…Nijiima-san?" Turned out the boy also knew her. Well, of course he's a third year.…She's just noticed that. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?" The boy said in a little strange voice.

"I was. I just went out to get something.…More importantly though, why are you in…" Makoto said as he looked the boy twice to make sure. "…this condition?"

"…I think It's pretty self explanatory."

"You forgot your umbrella?"

"I didn't forget my umbrella…I just forget the fact that I don't have one."

….

'…I don't know what to say back', "…Oh, right, right." Makoto nodded like a sage with a knowing face. 'Looks like our prez is familiar with, let's just say his bullshit.'

"Anyway though, could you take this girl to school?" The boy said pointing at her.

"This girl?" Makoto said in a little surprise and turned towards her. "Takamaki-san!?", Makoto said in a loud voice with her hand on her mouth. 'She's just noticed me?'

"Ahaha, go-good morning, Senpai."

"Oh, uh. Ahem, Morning to you, too." Makoto said putting on a small smile. "Ummm, of-of course. But, Arisato-san, what about you?"

"…What about me what?"

"How are you going to get to school?"

"…I will run, of course." The boy said that like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, you won't. You're gonna get sick!" Makoto said with a little raised voice while Ann looked at them weirdly. '…Are those two…close?'

"Oh, you don't have to worry." The boy said with that smug? face again. "I have good immune system."

….

….

"No, you don't.", "That again!?" Both the girls said almost at the same time and the boy seemed almost shocked to hear that. Keywords being 'seemed' and 'almost'.

"Look, whatever. Just takes her to school." Saying that the boy turned towards the street.

"Okay, but at least change into your gym clothes when you reach school!" Makoto said stopping the boy.

"…I don't have gym clothes."

"You don't? Then go ask in faculty room." Makoto said back in response.

"Right. The faculty room…." The boy stopped for a moment. "That is in…thi-", "Second.", "Second floor, got it." Saying that the boy finally ran off towards the streets in the rain leaving both girls back there.

'He's pretty fast, though.' Ann stared at the boy's running figure that started to vanish from her sight slowly.

"Ahhh, Takamaki-san?"

"Hm?" Ann turns towards at her Senpai's voice. "I apologized for him. He might be a little hard to…Uh, well, he's just a little quirky." Makoto said with a small smile.

"Is he in your class, Senpai? I feel like I've never seen him before.", 'Well, she's not the one to look at everyone's face and remember them but…he's kinda hard not to notice with that blue hair and…That hair.

"Of course you wouldn't have seen him before. He's just transferred this week."

"What!? He's the transfer student!?" Ann said in a very loud voice. Ann turned towards the direction the boy ran off to. 'So, he's the one Shiho was talking about, huh.…Well, he can be attractive if you like boys that are pretty,…handsome,…dreamy and…well, quirky.', "Well, he's great, huh." Ann said turning towards Makoto who's just look back at her with a smile.

"Ahahaha" Surprisingly their strict student council president let out a sheepish laugh looking at the same direction as her. "…Noo, no, he's not."

x-x

"Wwwwhhhhyyyyy…?"

"*Sigh* , will you give it a rest?"

"Ughhh, just tell me why?"

"It happens, okay. Just let it go. I'm working."

"I mean what!? I mean why would he do that? That's what I want to know!?", "Oh my god! Kawakami, would you just shut up!?"

"How could you say that!? I'm in the middle of a crisis and I want to know why!?"

"So, the principal put another student in your class, so what!?"

"So WHAT!? Then take him to your class! I give you my blessings."

"He's a second year!"

"I knew that! But, why my class!?"

"Yours the only one with a free space!"

"I knew that, too!"

"The why did you ask me why!?" The two teachers, Kawakami and Chuuno started a staring contest after a heated, useless argument.

"*Sigh* , I don't know why I'm even arguing with you." Kawakami turned around with a now lazy voice. "Honestly I'm not paid enough for this."

"Just get over it. In fact, He might even be a bright kid. Look at Arisato-san from my class. He seems a little off and strange at first but now even the teachers like him."

"Yeah, but this new student is gonna be off the whole year. What the hell is principal thinking? Accepting a kid with a criminal record."

"We all know the reason.", "Yeah, we do." with that said Kawakami continued her work with a tired face. "*Sigh* , I wonder if I should quit to focus on my other job."

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing. I said nothing." Kawakami said immediately back but that hyena didn't let up.

"No, you did say something. What did you just say?"

"It doesn't matter. Just let it go!"

"No, I definitely heard you sa-", *Knock knock* , "Um?" Chuuno stopped talking and both teacher turned towards the door. "You got lucky." Chuuno said pointing towards the teacher in front of her, while Kawakami just rolled her eyes. "Come innn…*Slide* , So how can w-oh my god!"

"What now? Kawaka-Ahhhrgh!" Both of them shouted at the blue haired boy with water dripping through his body that it was even making a small puddle under him. "…I'd rather not come in."

"Oh my god, Arisato-san. What happened?" His homeroom teacher stood up from her desk and walked towards him.

"I think it's pretty self explanatory.…Anyway, Nijiima-san said that I can ask for my gym shorts here."

"Huh? You don't have one?" Chuuno asked back with a raised eye.

"No…"

"It should be sent to you on the day you got accepted here."

"Oh…" Minato said breaking eyes contact. "Well, I don't have one…So, is there any spare? I can't go into the classroom like this." Minato said looking at his clothes.

"Uhh, Oh! Kawakami, you still haven't sent the transfer student his things right?" Chuuno said towards her.

"Uh, no."

"Can you lend them?"

"What? He's gonna arrive soon."

"It's still two days earlier. Just look at him! He's gonna get sick." Chuuno said pointing at him.

"Actually I have goo-Ughh, never mind."

"Fiinneee…" Kawakami said, standing up. "Follow me." Then she said as she got out trying not to step in the puddle of water.

"Thank you,…please excuse me then ." Minato said as he closed the door and followed the teacher.

'…Transfer…student…'

x-x

"Here's tea."

"Ah, Thank you." The man took the steaming cup with a bright smile.

Akira Kurusu is now sitting on their table in the living room with the son of their friend. He is his friend, too, although he might be a little older than him. He is a policeman, and he's here to talk about his…situation. And, No. He's not like the ones before who are just trying to put him in juvenile hall. He has no ties to this investigation but he's just trying to help,…he hoped.

"Mom, please leave us."

"Are you sure?"

"…Yeah." Akira said in small voice and his mom made an understanding nod and excused herself.

….

"So, anything new?" Akira asked towards the man with as much hope that he can muster.

The man drank from his cup then gently put it down. "I'll admit. The situation looks pretty grim for you." The man said in a serious tone. "I tried to help you but avoiding the juvenile hall is the best thing I can do for you. And Even though I tried to dig far, I can't find out the identity of the man you attacked."

That caused Akira to look at the man angrily but the man didn't even flinch. "I didn't attack the man. He fell on his own!" Akira said those words through gritted teeth.

"I know but that doesn't change the fact that he got hurt because of your intervention." The man said back without breaking a beat.

"Tch", 'So, he's the same as them, too.'

"Look, Akira, I know this is a hard time for you but you should understand that the victim confessed and we can't do anything when we don't even know who he is."

"He's not a victim. He's trying to assault a woman!" Akira said in a raised voice standing up. "And why can't police officers identify a single person?"

The man looked visibly hurt at that comment. "Well, I'm not sure but he might be a bigshot or some higher-ups, at least higher than a normal police officer."

Akira looked away realizing his words and sat back down. "…So, I have no choice but go to Tokyo?"

"As of now, yes."

"Heh," Akira laughed with a self-deprecating grin. '…'As of now', he said, when I have to leave tomorrow.'

"Don't be like that. Maybe at there, you will find some friends,…Friends who can understand you."

" I don't think so." Akira said back and stood up. "An outcast here, will also be an outcast there. There will be no one who can understand me." The man looked like he wanted to argue back but contained himself.

"Thank you all for your help but…I suppose there's nothing to do but accept my fate now." Saying that Akira went out of the room leaving the man back there. He passed his mother on the way but he didn't say anything and just moved on.

The man didn't move from his spot, looking at the boy with sad expression. Then his mother came into the room.

"I apologize for my son. He's been a little since…well, ever since." Ms. Kurusu said with a sad smile.

"No need for that, Ma'am. He's been going through things which no kids should." Then the man looked down towards the floor. "I just wish I could've done something more though."

"You have already helped us enough." Akira's mother said making a small bow to the man. "Thank you so much for all your help,…Narukami-san."

The man with a silver bowl-cut hair and eyes gray as steel turned to her with a smile. "It's the least I could do."

x-x

"Please excuse me." Yu said closing door behind him. He walked down the stairs, walking away from the Kurusu household towards his vehicle.

'Really wish I could've done something for the kid though.' While he's thinking that, suddenly his phone started to ring.

"~Everyday's great at your Junes!~" Some passersby looked at him weirdly while some students laughed at him. 'Laugh all you want, I'm not changing this.' Yu took out his phone and checked the number, making his face break into a grin.

"Hello, Yosuke!"

_"Yo partner! How's you hanging?"_

"Fine. Just dropping by at some friend's house." Yu said as he walked along.

_"Huhh, you getting new buds?"_

"Not like that. Remember about the kid I told you?"

_"Ohhhh, yeahhh. That was some tough luck. So what's the news?"_

"No good. Probation is all I could manage."

_"Well, at least he has you to hel-Go away, I'm on the phone.", "Is that sensei?", "Yeah, we're talki-Ahhrgh!", "SENSEI!"_

Yu distanced the phone from his ear as a bello-bearlowing voice came from other side. "Immm, Hello, Teddie."

" _SENSEI! I'VE MISSED YOU!"_ Teddie said and he's sure that he's already crying.

"Ahhhh. There, there."

_"Listen, Sensei! I've been alone almost everyday here. After you leave, Chie-chan and Nao-cakes left for their work. And Rise-chan is not answering my calls. And worst of all, Yuki-chan is blatantly avoiding me!", "Of course, she's gonna, after that stupid stunt you've pulled."_

"Teddie, Kanji is still there, isn't he?"

_"…."_

"Hm, Hello?" Yu said as the line went silent.

_" I feel like everyone is trying to leave me. First sensei…And now everyone."_ 'Oh, so he decided to ignore that.', _"Sensei, please tell me. Am I just a bear people like to leave?"_

"Come on, Teddie, don't b-", _"Yosuke! please don't leave me, too!", "Woah! *Clang clang* *Bam*"_

Yu winced in sympathy as things became chaotic on the other side. _"Wahhh, Wahhhh!", "Okay, OKAY! I get it. I wo-Gah, you stinks! Did you fall into that river again!?"_

"Ahaha," Yu couldn't help but laughed at his friends' antics. 'Haven't change a bit.'

_"I get it. I get it. I will take you to the beach, okay?", "Ha! Really? Yayyyy! Goodbye, Sensei!_ _BIKINI!"_

"Ahhhhh."

_"*Sigh* , I'm not gonna go past thirty living with him."_ Yosuke said in a very tired voice.

"Cut him some slack, he's just lonely."

_"And I can't even throw him out because he's more or less become Junes Mascot. We're practically married for life."_

….

"Ughhh."

_"…That…Kinda came out wrong. Anyway, that's not why I call you."_

"Ughh, O-okay." Yu said as he reached his motorcycle. A far cry from his scooter at Inaba…But, not as great though. "I'm listening."

_"Hmm, Are you alone right now?"_ As Yosuke said, Yu looked around the place. There's an old lady walking her dog but…He didn't think it count. "Yeah, what happened?"

_"…Kirijo-san asked for you."_ Yu froze as Yosuke said those words.

"Ki-kirijo? As in Ms. Kirijo?"

_"Yeah, I was pretty surprised. She suddenly called me out of nowhere."_

"What did she say?"

_"Um…You know about that freaky incidents from Tokyo?"_

"You mean Psychotic breakdowns?"

_"Yep! She thinks it might be connected to shadows."_

"SHADOWS!? *Woof woof* , Ah, sorry." Yu said as he went to a nearby corner. "Are you sure?"

_"Well, I'm not sure and apparently she's not, too. She said they are still investigating."_

"So, what does she want me to do?"

_"Nothing as of yet. She just wanted to know if you know something about that. But, I suppose you don't either."_

"Yeah, Police are investigating but I'm not in that. Maybe she can ask Naoto."

_"Hey, This is Kirijo-san we are talking about. I think she might already contacted all of us."_

"True though."

_"But, She did ask you to be in stand by because her squad is apparently busy. Turns out, along the way, we somehow got accepted into their organization."_

"Haha, Right, of course. Did she say anything else?"

_"Ummmm, Nothing. I think that's about it."_

"I see. Well, thanks for calling, Yosuke."

_"Anytime, Partner!*Beep*"_ After that, Yu pocketed his phone, still deep in thought. 'Shadows again…'

If this is true, then this is the fourth time he encountered shadows. '…I wonder is there an end to this?' Sometimes he can't help but wonder if his ordeal in Inaba is even mattered to the world as a whole as saving one small town isn't enough to change the world.

Because even now, out there, someone is facing problems that can't be solved by normal means.

x-x

**Around the same time in Shujin Highschool**

'Ah, crap. I forgot to do my homework…' Minato Arisato thought to himself sitting in his class, wearing clothes that are clearly a little big for him. Clearly his clothes are meant for someone taller than him. Buuuttt, apparently girls find it cute and boys find it annoying. So, all in all…He still doesn't care.

To the pressing matter, it's not that he forgot 'the homework'. He didn't bother to remember it in the first place.

"*Sigh*" This is normally not a problem for him. You think having to walk around the town and making a trip to hundreds floored tower at night was gonna make him not have enough time to do homeworks.…And yes, he didn't have anytime to do homeworks. But, he had a pretty foolproof solution.

The velvet room exists between dream and reality, and that means it exists outside the boundary of this world's time. So, basically, he could study entire curriculum and only one minute will be passed in the outside.

'Too bad, I don't have that luxury now.…And I blame Margaret.' Minato nodded to himself, satisfied. But, still It's not that time was a problem. He just wanted to ask around something but,…now it looked like he can't. Sighing to himself, Minato did his homework with an annoyed face.

…*Scribble scribble*….

"Ara! Arisato-san, did you forget it, too?" The girl beside him said in a soft giggle. Based the books on her desk, looked like she forgot it, too.

"…I…suppose."

"Is that so? I didn't really expect that." Haru said, while Minato just looked at her with a deadpan face.

"…Why?"

"Hm? Because you look always serious, of course!"

"…Um…what gave you that idea?" Minato said back still looking at her.

"Well, you looks always deep in thought with your eyes closed, and answering difficult questions, still with your eyes closed almost like you are a sage and whenever a teacher explained something, you covered your ears and lied face first on the desk trying to memorize it, and although it is still a few days, of course, I can't help but think that you a diligent student."

….

"…."

….

"…?", '…Jumpei, you just lost your job at being an ace detective.', "…Ah, well…I try…."

"I knew it!" She mades some kind of victory pose with a bright smile. He liked to say it's worth it but…he's not sure what's at stake. "We should finish it fast, the lunch break is almost over."

"…Yeah." With that both of them got back to their work again.

"…Okumura-san?"

"Hm, what's the matter?"

"…Do you know why the volleyball club members are always in bruises?"

"…." As the girl's answer didn't come, Minato took a glance towards her. '…I took a chance at asking directly since going around doesn't work…'

"Ahhh, Now that I think about it, yeah. They really are always in bandages and black eyes, aren't they?"

"…." Minato didn't say anything back and just let her carry on. "Ummm, but I'm not sure why. I'm so sorry, but I really don't know much."

"…I see."

"B-but, why don't you ask Nijiima-san?"

"…Uh." Minato made a sour face. "Ye-yeah but…uh…No."

"Ahaha, I know Nijiima-san can be strict and a little difficult but she always means well." Haru said with a knowing smile. Minato didn't say anything back and just grunted. "Sorry that I am not any help."

"It doesn't matter…"

"Oh! I know!" Haru suddenly shouted. "You should ask Shibu-san."

"Shi…Bu?"

"Yep! She's a member of newspaper club. And she always knows most of the things around here."

"Is that so?", 'I'm not sure what would she know if this really is connected to shadows but,…for now, "And do you know where I could …find her?"

"Ummmm, If I remember, she's usually in the second floor corridor, and if not…Uhhh…Ummm." Haru deeply thought to herself that you can almost see smoke coming out of her head. "Ahhh…I don't know. I'm sorry. I only know this one place!"

"It's okay. I appreciate this." Minato said standing up from the desk.

"Huh! You're going now!? What about your homework?"

"I've already finished it." Looked like she didn't notice him writing while talking to her. "…And beside, as a great woman once said, 'Nothing's like the present', Right?"

"Yes , And That great woman wants you to stop sleeping in class,…Now."

….

"…."

….

"…What?" Minato turned around to see the students council president right behind him. 'Ahh, crap…'

"Arisato-san, it's against the school rules to sleep in the class."

"…Ughhhh", "Arisato-san's sleeping in class!?" His seat-neighbour said with a squeaky voice. 'Let's…just ignore her for now.'

"Wh-why do you think I was sleeping…in class?"

"I didn't think you were sleeping in class. I totally saw you sleeping." His accuser voice came back almost suddenly. "And you were even snoring!"

"I was snoring?"

"Uhhh, well, I'm not sure but I could probably hear it if I were near you!" His accuser doubted herself for a moment but quickly recomposed herself.

"Uh, look… I don't know what you saw but I was totally and definitely not sleeping.", 'I hope I don't lose my job for lying.'

"Really? Then what were you doing, lying on the desk in Mr. Ushimaru's class?"

"…Uhhhhh.", 'She saw that, huh?' Minato looked around the place for some help, but the only one here was Okumura with her mouth hanged open, looking at them. When she saw him looking at her, she closed her mouth and looked at him like a child.

"…I was…", *Stare* , "…Trying to…", *Stare* ,"…memorize the lecture…" Minato said not meeting Makoto's eyes.

….

"Really?" But she looked at him with a smirk, that says 'is this your best excuse?', "Is this your best excuse?" And she said it.

"Then why were you covering your ears?", 'She saw that, too, huh?'

"It was…not to let noises interfere.", 'The trick to lying is making them believe that you believe in your own nonsense.'

"It's true! Arisato-san is really trying to remember the lecture." His 'friend' came for his help. '…Ohhh, poor kid. Sorry, I meant Pure kid.'

"Re-really?" Makoto stuttered a little as this became two against one.

"No, I'm sure that he's rea-*Ding dong*" The bell suddenly rang while she was talking.

"Ahhh, Look. The lunch break's over."

"But…I'm not fi-"

"Uh-Uh, No. You should go to your seat. Otherwise It's against the 'School rules', isn't it?" Makoto looked like she wanted to say more but she accepted her defeat then went back to her desk. "…We are not finished yet, Arisato." Before she left she made sure to say that though.

….

'…What did I just get myself into?'

x-x

…*Mutter Mutter* , *Slide* , "Huh?" The whole class room got silent as the door was open suddenly.

….

'…Why are they looking at me?' He's not sure if they were looking because a third year was on the second year classroom or…because of his oversized baggy pants.…Probably the latter.

"Uhhh"

….

'What was I supposed to say?'

….

'Now, this is starting to get awkward.'

….

"Senpai?" Both him and the whole class turned towards the voice. It was the girl that gave him sandwich before. '…Shiho…Suzui.', "What are you do-Uah" Shiho stopped mid sentence as she saw the whole class looking at her. "Uhh, Sorry!" Saying that Shiho quickly closed the door.

'…That was a little strange.'

"Uhhh, sorry, Senpai!" The girl finally collected herself and said to him. "S-so, wh-what are you doing here?"

'Doesn't matter though.', "I'm looking for someone." Minato said with usual expressionless face.

"In the second-years?"

"Yeah, Do you know her? I think she's called Shibu or something."

"Oh, she's in this class." The girls fidgeted a little. "Um, let me check if she's still here." Saying that Shiho opened the door a little and peek inside. 'Hm, you think with her personality, she would be more of a social person…at least more than he is. But…well, I did say 'appearances can be deceiving'.

"*Sigh* , sorry, Senpai. Look like she's not here.'

"I see…Well, goodbye, then." Saying that Minato turned around to leave.

"Ahhh, please wait!" But the girl's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Uhh, she might not have left yet. So we could probably catch if we wait at the entrance."

'That sounds like a chore,' "…Is that so? Well, goodbye, then." Saying that Minato, again, prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute, please!" But, the girl stopped him again. "I'm taking a guess here, but you've never seen her before, right?"

Minato didn't say anything back, but it's true, the only thing he knew about her based on Haru's description is glasses and ponytail. "…No."

"I figures. Then I should probably come with you, to help you find her." The girl said smiling to herself.

"Uh, no ne-", "Come on, don't be modest, senpai, Let's go!" Shiho said coming near him, making another bruise on her head visible to him. But, she didn't notice that. "What are you spacing out for? We are going to miss her, Let's go!"

"…Okay, Uh, lead the way. I guess."

x-x

And that's how he got roped into waiting for some girl that can probably give him nothing concrete.

"Still not here, Maybe we already missed her. Ahh, can't be. She never left this early." The girl beside him muttered to herself.

….

"Arisato-senpai, I was hoping introduce you two but, it looks like you've already met Ann."

"…Ann?"

"You know, that beautiful girl with twin tails?"

"Twin tails…Oh, Umbrella girl."

"Yep, that one. So, you really did break her umbrella." Shiho said with a small laugh.

"It was…an accident…"

"How do you run over an umbrella by accident?"

"Accidentally, of course." Minato said with a small scoffs, smiling. The girl seemed to stare at him for some time.

"…What?"

"Nothing!" Shiho quickly turned around and looked towards the crowd again. "Ahhh, she's still not here!" She said in a little forced voice.

….

"…Suzui-san, you don't have to wait here with me. I don't want to hold you off…on your things." Minato said to her in hope that she would leave and he could go home to take a nap…to the morning.

"Don't worry. I'm not going home yet. I still have to go and practice. And it's still some time left." Shiho said back in response. "Ah, there she is. Shibu-san!" Shiho said and ran to the girl with weird name. 'Bye bye, my sweet nap…' Minato also followed her with a tired sigh.

"Hm, Suzui-san?" The girl, Shibu, turned and looked towards them. "And…who is this?" The girl said looking at him.

"Let me introduce you guys, Senpai, this is Shibu Asagi. She's a member of the news paper club. And Shibu-san, this is Arisato-senpai.", 'Hm, she seems to be able to communicate fine, so why doesn't she have that many friends?'

"Ah, Aristao! The mysterious transfer student! I was planning to search for you, but looks like you come to me."

"…Why would you se-"

"But, a little bit of warning though, don't call me Shibu. Call me 'Newspaper club member girl!" The girl said with a smirk pushing her red glasses up.

"What's wrong with Shibu? It's cute." The girl beside him said back.

"No, it's not. It sounds stupid!"

"Anyway," Minato intervened before this could get more sidetrack. "…So, newspaper club…member…Ah, that's kind of a mouthful. Can I drop girl?"

"Uhhhh, sure."

"So, I like to ask you something,…if that's alrig-"

"Ohhhhhhhhh!" The girl said loudly before he could even finish. "So, even the new guy knows I'm the one to ask for information. Hmmm, it seems my reputation does percedes me." The girl said nodding to herself.

"…Yeah. So, Uh, ca-"

"Okay, okay, Okay! Shoot!"

"…Okay."

….

Minato looked towards the girl beside him.

….

Then the newspa-news girl also looked towards the girl, who's watching at them with a smile.

….

The girl seemed oblivious to their staring.

….

"…Ahem!" , "Hm?" The girl turned towards him with a tilt of her head. "What's wrong, Senpai?"

"…Ahhh", 'How should I…'

Luckily he didn't have to as the girl realized herself. "Oh! Uhhh, Ummm…I should probably go to practice. So, I will leave you two. Ahhh…Ummm, see you tomorrow, Senpai!" The girl quickly excused herself and ran along the corridor.

Minato craned his head and looks at the girl. 'It doesn't matter if she hear but… at least it wo-', "Soooo, you waited until Suzui-san go, huh?", 'At least, let me finish my thought in peace.'

Minato turned back towards the girl, to see her in a wide grin. "I suppose what you want to ask concerns Suzui-san, isn't it?"

"…In a way."

"Hah! I knew it. So, you want to know if she has a boyfriend or not. And if not, you want to know her type or you want to know her fav-"

"I want to know why she's always in bruises."

"Huh?" The girl stopped talking as Minato interrupted her.

"Not just her. All the students from her club, too."

….

"Ughhhhhh…I mean, Ummmm." The girl started to speaks in gibberish.

"…Uhhhhh, No idea. How about this!? Do you know that Okumura-senpai is seriously all smiles this week?''

"Don't know, Don't care. Just answer my que-"

"o-or-or how about this! Did you know that our strict student council president has large amount of fascination for yakuzas and shounen mangas!?"

"Doesn-uh, really? I mean No. I don't care."Minato said quickly composing himself.

"o-o-o-orrrr, you'll like this, I heard that we're getting another transfer student and get this, this guy murders twelve gu-" But the girl stopped in mid-sentence as Minato glared at her with eyes that could make a crying child goes…catatonic. "Eieeee!"

"Oh…" Minato realized himself and changed back into his usual expression. "I apologize. I just want to know…why she's hurt."

….

"*Sighhh*" The girl suddenly let out a long sigh. " I get it. I get it! I will tell you what I know. So, stop making that puppy-eyed face."

"…Appreciated." Minato said softly as his plan worked.

"*Sigh* , I probably should warn all the girls. This guy's bad news." The girl said, not even having the decency to cover mouth. But, that didn't make Minato even shows an expression. " Hmmmm, tough crowd but I sh-"

"Your answer, please." Minato interrupted her before she could changed the subject.

"Okay! Okay! Don't rush me."

The girl didn't say anything for some times but Minato patiently waits for her. "Okay, Fine! I don't care anymore. But, first you'll have to agre-"

"Agreed."

"O-Okay, then. The truth is…" The girl said quietly, moving near him. "I'm not sure of anything yet and this is all a big rumor buutttt I'm too scared to investigate it myself."

"Understandable. Carry on."

"You know that their club practices in gym, right?" Minato nodded. "Okay, at night, mostly after school when almost everybody leaves,…Uh, if you go near there, you could shouts and screams like 'Please! or No more!' Like that you know. And most think that, Maybe, just maybe the Gym is haunted."

"Haunted!?" Minato suddenly snapped his head to her direction.

"I didn't know you were into occul-"

"They're practicing now." Muttering that Minato turned around and walked towards the place. "Thank you.", 'The thing with Fuuka also started with rumors like this. Finally, some hard lead.'

"Wa-wait! Transfer student!" Before he could do a full-on sprint, the girl stopped him mid way. "What?"

"Not now. You have to wait until a little late. Preferably after I'm safely tucked in bed or tomorrow, where no one saw you and me talking orrr…Just never check."

Minato stopped for a moment.

"…I'll keep in touch." Saying that he resumed his run again.

"Are you listening to a word I said!? Transfer student! Woi!…Ohhhhh, I'm gonna get so much trouble for this.…Damn stupid hormones and his stupid, pretty mug!"

x-x

….

The velvet siblings are sitting around the table in silence.

….

Suddenly Margaret broke the silence. "Don't you think he's a little late?"

"Yeah." Justine said looking towards their front door. "Usually, he arrived about now and complained about his day."

"Do you think…something happened?" Theodore said to his sister.

"We can't be sure."

"Come onnnnn!" Caroline said in a exasperated tone. "Why are you guys being such a worry warts. He's a big guy! He can handle himself."

"But, Caroline, Makoto-sama is severely weakened and it's been too long since he walked on this earth."

"Ahhhh! Get a grip, guys! Don't pamper him too much. He gonna gets a big head again, not like Margaret hasn't already done enough."

….

"What do you mean?" Margaret turned towards her sister with a frown.

"Am i wrong? You constantly fuss about him, you are the one who suggested us to make a meal for him and you even volunteer to guard him yourself."

"First of all, you were the one who told us to cook and second, that's because he's vital in our course. We can't let anything happen to him. We can't do anything without him!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that…"

"Caroline, I won't let you tal-"

"Both of you! Please, calm down." But, before she could finish, Justine stopped them. "Caroline, apologize to our sister. You went too far."

"What!?"

"You know it yourself."

….

The twins stared at each other.

….

"Finnneee," Caroline said holding up both of her hands. "I'm sorry, sister. I was wrong."

Margaret didn't say anything back, then, "Don't let it happen again." Then she collected herself with a sigh.

"For now though, let's just wait for him."

x-x

"Stop fooling around! DO IT SERIOUSLY!" Kamoshida shouted loudly. "Do you think this is playing? START TAKING IT SERIOUSLY!"

The students didn't say anything back and just kept focusing on their match, but that seemed to be the wrong move as it antagonized Kamoshida further.

"All right! That is enough! Stop it!" At Kamoshida's words, all the students stopped their playing. Then he went to the boy's team while stomping his feet.

"What the hell was that match!? Your forms are all off, and Nobody stays in their position. Tell me again! What the f*ck was that?" Kamoshida berated the boy's team, criticizing every little mistakes they made. "AND YOU! Suzui!" Then he turned towards the girl with ponytail.

"H-huh?" The girl said meekly as the man turned towards her.

"What is wrong with you!? The way you play just now is downright embarrassing if not insulting!"

"I-i-I'm sorry, sensei. It's just…it's just…" Shiho didn't say anything more as she touched around the bandages on her right hand.

" 'IT JUST', WHAT!? Speak Louder! That's not how you speak when you're loitering around with that transfer student!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I saw you. What were you thinking, HUH? Don't you know that you had to practice?" Kamoshida said walking towards the girl. "Do you think you can just pop in whatever you want? Huh?"

"N-no, I was just helpi- *Slap* , Ah!" Kamoshida slapped her right across the face so much that she even fell down to the floor.…And sadly no one came to help her up or…protect her.

"Do you think I want to hear your excuses!?" Kamoshida shouted loudly towards the girl, them he turned to address everyone. "Listen up! All of you are worthless piece of trash in society. And Do you know who make you trash even have a place in society? ME! You guys should revere me as your king! I'm the only who make your life worthy here, and That means NO MORE things like this. I don't want to hear OR SEE anymore of these things, do you understand me!?"

"Y-yeah, sensei…" Everyone said this just loud enough for him to her but that is not enough for him. " I said, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME, SUZUI!?"

"Ye-yeah, sensei. I do." Shiho said back still on the floor.

"Hmph, stupid brats." Kamoshida said muttering to himself. "Alright, the same thing, Again. And no water before I say so." Kamoshida said walking out of the court.

….

"ARE YOU GUYS DEAF!? I SAID, AGAIN!"

"Y-yes, sir." , "So-sorry, sensei!" Saying that all of them ran towards their positions again.

And Shiho also had to get up by herself with no one coming to help her. With that Shiho walked towards her place with a new bruise on her cheek and a cut on her lips. 'Just another day…'

…*Whistle!* , Kamoshida blew the whistle again and the match continued again.

….

….

Unknownst to all of them, the blue-haired boy was leaning on the door, with his silver eyes shining in the pitch black darkness. And even in darkness, you can see black clouds swirling around him.

The boy turned to the door and slowly reached his hand to the handle.…But he hesitated at the last second, pulling his hand away.

….

The boy stayed there for a moment, unmoving, looking at his hand.…Then shaking his head, he walked along the corridor, seemingly vanished in the shadows.

….

"H-hey, are those footsteps?"

"W-what?…I don't hear anything."

"No-no, I definitely hear something!" The scared one of two students said.

"Don't be ridiculous. This is all just a rumor." The seemingly mature one of the two said. "And remind me again, why did you bring that water bottle?"

"It's holy water.…I got it from the church."

"What are we? Winchesters?"

"Whatever…" The scared one said, then he looked towards the bottle to see…"Uhh, AHHHHH!" in his surprise, he suddenly threw the bottle to the floor.

"What Now!?"

"T-ttt-the water! I-it turned to blood!"

"What?" he looked towards the bottle to see it filled with red liquid. "AHHHHH!" Shouting that both of them ran madly towards the entrance, leaving the bottle in the floor. Then suddenly, the world seemed to fizzled out like a TV and it changed into normal bottle filled with water.

x-x

**Some time later**

"Sister, Makoto-sama is back." Justine said as she and Theodore enters the room.

"Great." Margaret said looking up from her book. "…Then, where is he?"

"Uhhh," Theodore started nervously. "He suddenly came into my room and said, 'Out' and banished me from my room." Theodore finished dejectedly.

"What?" Margaret stared at him for some time before sighing loudly. "Honestly, what is that man thinking again?" Saying that Margaret stood up and walked to the door.

"What are you doing, Margaret?"

"To ask him what took him so long, of course. What else?" Margaret replied back without missing a beat.

"I don't think that's a good idea, sister." But, Justine stopped her.

"Why?"

"He seems a little strange.… I think something happened today."

"That's all the more reason to go and ask him."

"No. I think we should leave him alone for sometimes. He looks…conflicted."

….

Both sisters kept standing at the door for sometimes. "Fine, I will believe your judgement then."

"Thank you." Justine nodded.

"Theodore, watch him. If he makes any movement, come and call me." Saying that Margaret turned around.

"Of course, Margaret."

x-x

**'?'**

'Where am I?' Akira slowly opened his eyes. He slowly got up from lying down. 'Wasn't I on a train?' Akira looked around the place.

He's in some kind of narrow cell. The whole place was filled with blood red color. 'Is this a dream?' Akira tried to stands up and feel something's holding his feet. "Ah!" Akira looked down at his feet to see it was tied into a black steal ball with similar black chains. "What the…"

"Oh my, I never expected to see you." , "Huh!?" As Akira heard an unfamiliar voice, he jerked his head towards its direction, to see a tiny man with a weird noise and bloodshot eyes. "Well, of course. This place is crafted from your soul. So of course, you're gonna be pulled into here."

"Who…What are you?" Akira said walking towards the door with great effort.

"All will be revealed in due time, trickster. But, first of all…" The man said as he threw his arms in the air. "I welcome you from my crimson room, Trickster."

"What are you talking about?" Akira said as he nervously looked around. "Where am I!? What is this place!?"

"Ahmhm, well, I like to explain it to you but sadly, we must cut our meeting short." The man said letting out a sigh. "I must confess. That Messiah really did a great job with the seal."

"Huh? I'm sorry, I don't understand what yo-" Akira didn't finish his sentence as a blinding light filled his vision.

"Anddd, that's what I talking about.… Can't even have a peaceful conversation."

"What are- Arrgh!" Akira tried to speak but the light was too bright that he almost felt like his eyes were burning.

"Until we meet again. Humor the messiah for me, will you? After all, it's thanks to him that I found out about this place." The man's voice echoed as the light became brighter and brighter. 'Oh god, I'm going to die.' Then suddenly the light vanished and he felt like he was thrown out to the wind.

….

"Now, all the players are in place. And the opening act is soon.…I will see what your choice would be, Messiah."

x-x

"Huh!" Akira woke up with a start. He looked around the place quickly to see that he's still on the train. 'What the hell was that? That was so scary.' Akira felt his heart to see it hammering loudly. 'Thank god! it was a dream. I thought I'm gonna be blind for life.' Akira calmed himself down. He's now on the train to Tokyo, leaving his hometown and his previous life behind. He even started wearing a glass, 'Narukami-san's suggestion, for what I don't know…to look more like a nerd?' As Akira thinking that suddenly a mechanical voice flared to life.

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you for waiting, we will be arriving at Shibuya shortly."

Shibuya…It was more or less everyone from the country's dream to visit the city but never in his life, he thought it would be like this.

Akira stood up and walked towards the train door. 'Okay, as soon as this door opened my new life here final- *Slides* , at least let me finish my thought!' Akira quickly got out of the train before he got trapped by people.

Then after that Akira quickly got out of the station climbing up a large stairs. The sun greeted him in its full force, giving him warmth…But, he hoped it didn't because it's already hot enough as it is. No matter where he looked it's people, people and people and pe-oh, there's a dog and dogs and dogs.

Akira fidgetd in place. There were never this many people in his hometown, and when suddenly thrust into this, his imaginary social anxiety was starting to act up. *Gulp*

Akira walked through the streets, nervously looking around. *Ching* "Ah!", 'Oh, it was just my phone.' Akira took out his phone to check the message. '…Oh, just my mom.' It's just the usual 'Are you okay? Did you reach there safely?' and so on. But, there's the address for his new place though.

"Yogen-Jaya?" Akira looked around the place. 'There's nothing that looks like an jaya…of course there isn't. Just a joke to lighten things up.' Laughing at his own joke, Akira opened his navigation app. 'Yogen-Jaya, here is it.' With that Akira walked through the streets as the app entailed.

All was going well when suddenly a red thing filled his phone screen. 'Uh? What is this?' Akira try touching his phone but it's unresponsive. 'Oh, come onnn. I can't afford another one.' Akira rapidly touched his phone but it's still unresponsive. Moreover the red thing seemed to become even bigger. "What is wrong wit-" Akira stopped mid-sentence as he noticed his surrounding. "-everything today?"

Akira nervously looked around. Everything and everyone seemed to be froze in motion as time itself looked vanished. It's like there's only him in his own world. *Flare*

But, it looked like there's not only him. Blue fire sprouted from somewhere in front of him. The fire seemed to become larger and larger. Then, in the middle of it he could see a…smile. A maniacal smile. Although it came from the fire, that smile was enough to chill the bones. "What?" Then it all vanished suddenly and multitude of noises filled his ear, as time seemed to flow once more. Akira, can't even understand what just happened, just looked back at his phone. The red thing was still on his phone. 'This looks cute but…sadly you have to go.' With that Akira continued his destination looking at his phone. 'Let's just forget that happened,okay?…With being repressed by the society, and if I become delusional, I would become a literal Clown.'

….

As he walked, he didn't notice a silver haired woman in blue clothes watching him.

….

"Gotcha…"

x-x

"It's boring here." Caroline whined loudly.

"Well, get used to it." Justine said back curtly.

"We also usually sit around with nothing to do. But, It feels more boring here."

….

"Oi, Theo, can you do something?"

"Huh?" Theodore turned around from cleaning. "What do you want me to do, Caroline?"

"I don't know. Just do something! I'm dying of boredom here!"

"I don't know wh-" *Bam* Their front door suddenly flung open. "I've found the wildcard!" Margaret suddenly entered.

"Finally! Something exciting!" Caroline stood up. "So, what? Do we have to rough him up?" Caroline asked with her eyes sparkling.

"Ahhhh," Margaret seemed a little surprised to hear this. "No,we don't." Caroline seemed surprised at this answer, she didn't know why though. "Anyway, Theodore, where's Makoto-sama?"

"Ah, He's already gone to school?"

"School?" Margaret walked towards the window to check the sun. "It's still so early. He never wakes up this early."

"I know. But, he just wakes up, full dressed and went out. He didn't even acknowledge me."

"That's…weird."

"Really? I can't tell anymore." Caroline chimed in.

"Then we should just wait for him to come home then. I will keep watch of the wildcard myself." Margaret said as she prepared to go out again.

"Is he near?" Justine asked.

"Surprisingly he is. He entered an establishment called 'Leblanc Cafe'. It's really not far from here."

"Wait, wait. Sister, Can I come with you?" Caroline asked suddenly.

"Why?"

"It's boring here."

"Maybe, but, we are just gonna keep watch of him."

"Yeah, but that can not be more boring than being here, right?"

'Well, it can be but…she doesn't want to burst her bubble.' , "Fine, you can come with me. Justine, Theodore, you two watch the house, okay?"

"Yes, sister."

'Finally, we can move on with our plans.'

x-x

Minato stood leaning lazily on one of the columns in the station, with his eyes closed.

….

"Oh, fancy seeing you here." Suddenly a girl said to him.

"Why? We go to the same school, aren't we?"

"Maybe, but You've been here for a week and you always arrive late." Makoto Niijima reprimanded the lazy student in front of her. "Why are you early today?"

"I can't be early?" MInato said still with his eyes closed. "But, If you want the reason, that's because I couldn't sleep."

"Of course, you couldn't. Yesterday, You were sleeping through the whole class." Makoto said as matter of fact, but the boy didn't say anything back and just shrugged.

….

"So, what are you doing here? Standing?"

"…I just don't want to go to school, yet."

"Then, why did you come early?"

"…Just…Just because." The boy didn't say anything more.

….

"Fine, don't tell me then!" Makoto said back in an angry tone but she didn't move from that spot.

….

"Is…everything alright?" Makoto asked and the boy finally opened his eyes, and looked towards her.

"…Why wouldn't it be?"

"Don't know but…as a student council president, it's my duty to hear a student's problems."

"Heh!"Minato scoffs. And that seemed to unnerve Makoto a little bit, but…she contained herself.

….

Neither of them said anything and just stood there about a minute or two with Makoto waiting patiently.

….

"…Say, Niijima-san…" The boy said something and Makoto looked towards him.

"What?"

"…The one you introduced me…when you showed me around the gym. What do you think about him?"

Makoto thought to herself for a moment. "You mean…Kamoshida-sensei?"

Minato neither confirmed or denied it and she took it as a cue to continue.

"What did I think of him? He, himself was a student of this school. So, him winning the olympics, of course, brought much fame to our school. And before he became the coach, our volleyball team was not even noteworthy. But, now we could even hope to win the nationals.…He gets along well with his fellow faculty and most of the student body love him. So, I would have to say…he's an outstanding teacher, of course."

"…."

"Why do you ask, Arisato-san?"

"…Just…Just because…" Saying that he stopped leaning and stood straight. Then without saying anything, he walked towards the entrance.

"What are you doing?" Makoto asked, surprise.

"…Going to school."

Makoto ran a little to catch up to him.

"Why, suddenly?"

"…This place reeks…."

"Hm?" Makoto stopped walking at the boy's weird comment. Then she sniffed around herself. "I don't smell anything." Then she saw the boy already climbing the stairs.

"Wa-wait a moment."

x-x

Minato walked up the stairs, emerging on the streets. Then finally Makoto caught up to him.

"Hmmmm, Why you always say something weird?"

Minato didn't say back anything back and just walked.

"Arisato, I'm aski-" *BAM!* Makoto almost lost her footing as the ground seemed to shake and a loud sound echoed through the place.

"W-what is that?" Then, multitude of screams filled her ears. Things become chaotic around her, As people started to run madly and police officers tried to stop them.

"Please, don't approach the station yet. An accident had happened!"

"What do you mean accident!? My friend is still in there!", "Please, You got to let me in! My wife and kid are still down there!"

"Please remain calm! We are trying to contain the situation!"

The whole place was filled with screams and pleas, as some ran from the station while others ran towards it.

"Mi-mi-Minato-san, we must get out of here fast." Makoto said to the boy. "Minato-san…" Then she noticed the boy was nowhere near her. "Minato-san!" Makoto quickly looked around the place. It's hard to find a single person in this crowd but his blue hair was unmistakable. "Minato-san, we must…run…" But, what she saw surprised her.

Although things around him were in complete disarray, the boy was walking like he's taking an evening stroll.

Minato walked through the place, without even acknowledging at the chaos around him.

'Yeah. The bad will be bad…and the good will be good. Just because you saved the world…doesn't mean you change the world. People will live…and people will die.…I'm a stranger now. A visitor to this place. A guest to this time…with nothing holding me here but my memories…memories long gone…'

Minato looked towards the sky, looking at the thing, that can't be seen now but he knew that it is there.

'…And as like people dying now…That matter is surely not my concern…'

-x-x-


	11. Prologue

**Date:?/ Time:?**

A helicopter flied through the city, passing various buildings and houses, towards a big casino. The casino itself was strange place because it was the only place filled with light and people in an otherwise ghost town, but even more strange thing about casino wass that a little bit of it's left side wass covered in a blinding white light. The light was so bright that the it looked like a miniature sun in the night.

Inside the casino, the people were nervously looking around, muttering to themselves.

"What is the meaning of this!?", "What's happening?"

"Don't tell me! Are the phantom thieves here?"

… *Bam* A large door suddenly opened and half a dozen men in black suit with sunglasses, carrying guns entered the place.

The man on the front looked around the place before checking his earpiece. "He must still be inside the building. Surround the perimeter! Close all the exits! We must not let him escape!" As soon as the man said that, many more entered the place, making already nervous people become hectic. But the men didn't pay attention to them, checking every nooks and crannies with their weapons in hand.

But, what they didn't notice is a man in an all black suit with a frizzy hair and gloves as red as blood, was standing on the chandelier above them while carrying a briefcase on his hand. And to top it all off, a white mask with the shape of a bird sat squarely atop his face. The man's whole attire screamed suspicious. And that's still not include his expression.

The man looked down at the black-suited men running madly around the place with smug, arrogant, satisfying grin. Although, there's no one around him, the man started to talk.

"Hm, amateurs, didn't even bother to look up. Oracle, could you check around the table for a suggestion box? I like to write a tip or two."

And surprisingly, a girl's voice replied him back. _"_ _Ohhhh…Nice burn, sick joke, very funny, Haha, I laughed_." The girl didn't even bother to cover her sarcasm.

But, the man just shrugged back with a smile, not looking even a bit offended.

"Is others with you?" The man said back to an invisible voice.

_"We are here, Joker."_ A calm voice said back, follows by a bubbly girl's voice.

_"Me and Skull are here, too."_

_"Man, let me tell you. All this running around is not good for my foot, you hear that?"_

_"Oh, suck it up, Skull."_ A feline voice said back to the whining boy before it was suddenly cut off by the first girl.

_"There you have it."_

"Hmm, what about Queen?"

_"Ahhh, let me check on that."_ The voice suddenly got silence. _"…Hmm, looks like they have not arrived yet."_

"Hm? Did they encounter some trouble?" Joker said back, still acting nonchalantly.

_"No, I don't think so. Why don't you ask them yourself…Patching throughhhhh now."_ *Click* A clicking noise was heard and Joker waited a little before speaking.

"Queen, can you hear me?"

_"Loud and clear, Joker."_ A charming young man's voice said back. He seemed to be in the middle of running.

"Crow, is Queen with you?"

_"Yes, I'm here."_ A girl said back.

Joker nodded a little before he continued. "Heard you guys were running late. What happened?"

_"Ahahaha, Ahhh, well long story short, that wei-Ahem, that uh-lady volunteered to cut off the lockdown and Me and Queen decided to take up her offer."_ Crow said back sheepishly.

"And?"

_"And it was a mistake. We would have been better taking Fox."_ Queen said back, cutting off.

"Oh…That bad, huh?"

_"~Don't worry! Joker-san and My Fellow Phantom Thieves! I, the great Elizabeth will always be there to save the day!~"_

"…."

_"Ahhh…."_

"What the hell was that?"

_"I don't know. This is the fourth time she said that."_

_"~Oh no!~ My Great Queen, Makoto-sama! Did me, humble Elizabeth, offended you somehow?"_

_"How many times do I have to tell you not to use my name!? Just Queen is enough!"_

_"~Ohohohoho~ But, I just like the name so much!"_

_"Ahahahah…Um, Ahaha. Ummmm…"_

_"You can say it, Crow…"_

_"Joker! That lady is really weird!"_

"Noted, Crow." Joker said back not acting even a little bit sorry. 'Good thing I decided to go solo!'

"Oracle, Our sharpshooter is running a little late." Joker said.

_"So?"_

"A little change to the plan. I will make a diversion and also acts as a diversion."

_"What!? That's dangerous!"_ The bubbly voice from before said back.

"No need to worry, Panther.…I got a plan." Joker said taking out his gun.

_"What? You're gonna shoot?"_ Oracle said skeptically.

"Why not? After all I learned from the best."

_"The best? The only thing he shot at is his head, what do you mean?"_

"Hmph, just observe, Oracle." Joker said carefully aiming. *C…lick, Woosh!* The bullet went through the air at an incredible speed, hitting it's target, one of the rope holding the light, thus making the rope broke off.

"HAH!", *Snap*…*Bam* The lights that the rope holding fell down towards the floor, making a loud sound echoed through the place.

"Ahh!?" , "What is the meaning of this!?" The people below him shouted madly.

"There's a disturbance at point 4, all units, I repeat, there's a disturbance at point 4." The voice from the radio sounded throughout the place and before long, many men in black suits appeared on the scene.

"Hmph, told you." Joker said in a smug voice before jumping towards the another platform.

"Over there!" The men from below shouted and not long after that the sound of gunshots filled the place, competing with the screams of people.

"Ha, child play." But, Joker easily dodged them all, making jumps from platform to platform, as much stylishly as possible.

_"Nice job, Joker! Now, all the enemies are focusing on him."_

_"I can't be the only one who thinks this is dangerous, right?"_

_"Well, that's to be expected, giving that this is our first actual heist without our chief strategist.", "Vice-strategist! Fox, Vice! You mean, Vice-strategist!", "Oh, sorry, Queen."_

One of the bullets nearly missed him but, he turned around with a smug grin on his face, then shot his gun, hitting right on the mark to the man's gunhole. Making it explode in the process. "Damn, that was so sick!"

_"But, maaannnn, we wouldn't be in this shit if he didn't f*ck up in the first place.", "Hey, Skull! You can't talk to my assistant like that!", "Since when did he become your assistant!?", "Well, since he is the only one who has navigational skill, of course, he becomes my assistant."_ , _"Hey, I can navigate too!"_

_"Please! My fellow Phantom Thieves! A True Phantom Thief Shouldn't Talk So Loud!", "You're the loudest one here!"_ , _"Ohya…", "Don't 'Ohya' me!"_

_"Ahahaha, what a lovely bunch you got here, Joker. Are they always like this?"_

"Well, it's true, more or less." *Bam, bam* Joker said dodging multitude of bullets in the air.

_"Haha, that's nice.…Still wish that I could've meet your chie-I mean 'Vice-strategist', no need to look at me that way, Queen."_

"…Yeah."

_"Talking about him, what happened tho-"_

_"Save it for later, Joker! We're in position!"_

"Got it, Queen."Joker said as he jumped onto a ledge. He then opened the air vent skillfully. "One treasure coming through." And he threw the case in his hand through the vent…

…Which is picked up by a woman in a suit like a biker gang…with spikes. _"Oracle, the treasure is on our hands."_

_"Got it! Joker, you do remember our rendezvous point, right?"_

"Of course, I do. I'm not like him. I can remember things just fine."

_"Are you though? Because the past events suggest you don't."_

"Oh, come on, have a little faith in me." Joker said lying on his back with his arms wide towards the ground…

…But, before he could drop headfirst to the floor, he makes a flip, making him falls like a cat. "Ha-"

"Don't move!" Before he could finish his celebration, the men surrounded him like a net with their weapons hot.

"Hmph, I don't need to move to beat you." A red aura flared on his surrounding, his eyes started to flash with a red light. "Ravage them, Arsene!" A humanoid being, cladded in red with a large top hat appears. His face was indiscernible with just flames dancing around, adorned with horns.

The being flapped it's feathery wings and all the men surrounding him were blown back like…well, feathers.

"Hm…" Joker stood up slowly, now with his mask gone, revealing his black eyes.

_"Well…technically you did move."_

"Shut up."

" _Wait, that's not your catch phrase."_

"…Ohhh, right. Sorry." *Bam* The door opened and men in black suit filled the place. They then suddenly morphed into beings, not even a little bit close to human but more like demons, Demons from tales and legends.

Joker watched them with a smug grin, while the being he summoned, Arsene was standing behind him. He then took out his dagger, flipping it once or twice.

….

"It's Showtime!"

x-x

"Burn!" Moloch shouted loudly as fire pillars sprouted beneath his feet.

"Arsene!" Joker called his persona and it came towards him then into him, almost as if he's fused with his persona with him having wings now at his back.

With a flap, Joker soared through the air, dodging the pillars of fire in the air. "Mannnn, using fire skills but…You are not actually bright, aren't you?"

"Gah!" The shadows seemed to get angry as the more fire pillars sprouted forth.

Joker unfused his persona, then it's carry him by his waist throws him towards the monster and he went flying like a bird.

"Well, here's something bright!" Joker said flashing both his dagger and his manic grin.

"Haha! Foolish human!" The shadow said as he prepared it's claw to slash at the man who's coming towards him.

But, Joker made a dive towards his side in the air, not making an attack but dodging the shadow's attack. "Oops! Sorry, I lied. It's actually not bright."

"What?"

"It's dark." The shadow finally noticed of the persona still in the air charging an attack. "Eigaon!"

"N-" The shadow didn't even finish his word as the large amount darkness with a red hue engulfed it completely.

x-x

"That's what you get for messing with a trickster." Joker said as he pocketed his dagger back. His persona went flying towards him and then it just floated behind him.

"If I have to give you any poi-"

…*Bam* "Hands in the air!" The door behind him suddenly opened with a shout as the men from downstairs finally got here.

"Ohhhhh…Poor choice of words." Joker flex his hands, and the persona behind him shines brightly and went flying towards them at light speed, destroying them on impact.

_"Cut your stupid smack-talk short, and just escape now."_

"Finnneee, I'm running now." The persona vanished in blue flames and his face was now adorned with the bird like mask again.

"Don't let him get away!" Another group of men followed him but, this time he didn't pay them any attention and just ran through the stairs.

…*Bam, Bam*

Stairs after stairs, floors after floors, the shouts of profanities and gunfires followed him and…

Joker finally reached the upper floor.

"We got him cornered, send reinforcements." The men said to his radio as Joker turned around towards them as the only thing in front of him was a glass wall. "You've got nowhere to run, surrender now!"

"Hmph." But, Joker still with the smug grin on his face, just gived them a salute with his hand. "Ciao."

Saying that he dived through the wall, making glass fell around him, shimmering in the light, as he soared through the air with the moon shining upon him.

_"What a show off…"_

_"You never listened to him, don't you?"_

…*Thud* As soon as he reached the ground, Joker made a roll to the side, making him safe from wounds, even when he jumped from the highest floor.

"I'm outside, Going to the meeting poi-"

_"Wait, what the hell are these reading!?"_

_"Are those all shadows?"_

_"What!? Joker, it's dangerous there. Abort, Abort!"_

The girl didn't even finish as a light was shined to him.

"What the…." Joker looked around the place to see him surrounded by a hundreds of police officers. 'Are those humans?'

"Arrest him!"

"Ah, Shit." Joker ran through the place, as the mobs of armed men came towards him.

Then, without even looking up he jumped towards a ladder, making them stopped as they couldn't reach him. 'Wew, Luc-' Then he finally looked up to see, dozens of guns aiming at him.

"Oh…" *Bwack* One of them hit him with back of a gun, making him fell into the group of men below him.

"Ahhhh!" , As soon as he reached the ground, many officers held him down, while some aimed at him with their guns while one of them hand-cuffed him.

"A kid?…Whatever, Congratulations. You are now a national criminal. And you have your teammate to thank for this."

Joker tried to struggle free, but the man holding him were too strong and too many.

"You were sold out."

"What?" That's what Joker said because he was hit again and passed out.

x-x

''*Gulp, Gulp…Gulp*…Hnngh." A woman in a black business suit let out a long sigh after drinking from the bottle. "Hmmm, Ahhhh…" The silver haired woman let out a grunt before drinking again.

She was in an apartment

It's weird to call this an apartment when this was her home.…But, it's so messy now that she didn't even want to call it her home. The clothes wrre strewn around on the floor. The glasses were broken. The cushions were lying on the ground. The whole place looked like a tornado just passes through. But, the woman didn't even bother trying to clean,…She just drank whatever she could find, beer…Whiskey…Gin, wine, just whatever she could find.

"…. Empty *Sighhh*" The woman looked around the place, completely ignoring the mess and setting her eyes on a framed photo on the table.

"Why…" The woman gently took the photo towards her. It's a photo taken on a lavish manor, there were business-owner, actors, singer, nearly almost all celebrities in Tokyo is there. And there was her and her sister.…But, the woman just focus on the blue-haired boy, watching at the camera with his silver eyes,…with a half-bitten bread in hand.

"Heh…" Sae lets out a soft laugh. It was a funding party…held by the Okumura family. She was invited there because of her position. And she desperately wanted to invite him too, but…in the end she's just too shy to ask him.

…But as if by fate or luck, when she arrived, she found him already there with Makoto.

….

That part always bugged her out a little but it was a mistake on her part. She should have expected that giving that both of them were in the same class as Miss Okumura.

It was a memory she would never forget, they talked about things…not work related…just things. He answered back…most of the time…otherwise, he just trying to stuff his face with food. But, she never saw him smiling that much before. His smile is just…beautiful. Too bad the camera didn't capture that.

She could even say it was a magical night. They did a little dance. He would pretend that he can dance,…while in truth he can't. "Ahaha…" She would never forget the looks Makoto and Okumura girl gave her.

Sae gently touched the photo.

Although the start was all well and good. Things took a little weird turn in the middle. He suddenly got just…just weird. He nervously looked around the place almost like he's scared and it was like…he was hiding from something or someone. He looked like he was having a panic attack. Then he suddenly left without saying goodbyes or anything. He just left.

….

"…Now that I think about it…I never got around to asking about that, didn't I…?" Tears started to swell again in her eyes. 'Now's too late for regrets. Now…it's just too late.' Sae Nijiima hardened herself with tears still in her eyes.

"I swear, Minato-kun, I will get my revenge.…I will capture those phantom thieves." Sae said with resolute in her voice.

….

….

"But now…is there something left to drink?" She said as she got up from her chair. She got a little dizzy and almost fell down but…she walked towards the refrigerator as if her life's depend on it.

"…Nothing here."

'What about the cupboard?'

…*Clang…Clang* , "Nothingggg."

"Ahhhhhhh…" She grunted as she took out everything from the cupboard. "…Why is no- what is this?" Sae took out a white envelope that's stuck on the corner between shelves. "Is this Makoto's?" Sae talked to herself as she looked at the envelope.

"…What is…Um!?" Sae rubbed her eyes and took a double looks at the words.

_From Arisato…_

"Minato!?" Sae broke the seal to takes out the letter inside. *Ring…Ring* Her phone started to ring but she's busy trying to open the envelope.

"Finally…got it." *Ring…Ring* Sae opened the letter fast and tries to read it.

….

….

"What?", 'What the hell did I just read?' Sae tried to collect herself. 'Must be the booze.' *Ring…Ring* "Ah, quiet!" Sae clicked her phone and it went into the voice mail, then she tried to read the letter again.

"…Metaverse…palace…" Sae tried to look closer. "…Akira…Kurusu…?"

_"Hey, Niijima-san, Uhhh, are you okay?"_

Sae looked towards the voice. 'Oh, the voice mail.'

_"Uh, it's me.…Inspector Sanada. I know this is the bad time for you. I don't know what happened but I hear that someone close to you…die…Umm, I know first-hand of how much that hurts."_

'He's not dead and You know nothing.'

_"But, uh I just got this And I know you're off the investigation but…Uh…"_

Sae took out her phone to hear it better.

_"…I just received a report that the leader of the phantom thieves have been caught."_

"What!?" Sae stood up suddenly, another dizzying spell hit her but she steadied herself.

_"I don't know how but, yeah, it looks like they finally caught him. I don't know if you know or not but, it was a kid called Akira Kurusu."_

'Finally, I can take m-wait,' , "…Akira…Kurusu…?" Sae looked at the letter that Minato supposedly wrote.

_"I just thought that you mi-"_ Sae cut the voice off and dialed a number.

….

_"He-hello, Niijima-san. I was worried a little when yo-"_

"Where is he?"

_"…I'm sorry?"_

"Akira Kurusu! Where did they take him!?"

_"I'm not sure. Uhhh, I will text yo-"_

"Do it fast!" Sae closed her phone fast then walked towards the bathroom. "'*Sniffs* , Uh…need a change of clothes."

….

"What do you want me to do, Minato-kun?"

x-x

…*Splash*

'Ahhh….' Akira hazily opened his eyes. 'What…happened? Where am I?'

"Hey, No dozing off."

"w-hat?" Akira tried to look at the voice. 'Ahhh…god, My head…'

"Hey, I said no dozing off." The voice came closer to him before he felt a sharp pain on his head. "Akh!" The man before him pulled up his hair and looked him squarely in the eyes.

"Hm, the drugs were too strong, huh…no matter." The man released his hair and then walked around him.

"The leader of the infamous phantom thieves.…Hm, a little put off by that fact you are still a student, but" The man stopped in front of him again and Akira tried to look at him through hazy eyes.

"…Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons…and nice little murders to complete the set."

'Murders? What is he…crap, I can't remember anything…'

"Hmph, and you chose the wrong guys to test your little crazy impulses, kid." The man said taking a clipboard from the man behind him. "The SIU and the Okumuras pulled a freaking witch hunt to catch you, heh!"

The man then put the clipboard on the table while giving him a pen.

"And fortunately, or unfortunately, you've been caught because of a tip from your teammate."

Akira went wide eyes at the man's comment and the man seemed to take pleasure from that, showing a grin. "No honor among thieves, huh…*thud, thud* Sign here."

"S…ign…w-why?"

"Do you think you're in the position to ask questions!?" The man said glaring at him.

'…no point arguing, I guess.' And Akira took the pen with shaking hand and tried to write his name.

_I, Akira Kurusu, hereby declares that I take full responsibility for my actions._

"Hmph, be obedient like this and maybe I will buy you a beef-bowl." *Clank* the door opened and Akira tried to look, but his head felt like it might explode.

The one from the door whispered something to the man in front of him.

'Why can't I…Ahhh, damn it, my head!' Akira tried to look up again, but then he saw…no he felt a blue butterfly flying around him.

**'You must remember, Trickster.'**

The butterfly said to him…well, he thought it said to him.

**'You are our only hope now.…The Messiah has already helped you, And now It's your turn. Now, It's your turn to help him back. Trickster, Please, you must be the light for Messiah.'**

'Me-messiah?…great, I'm high…'

x-x

"Director, This. Is. My case!"

_"No, it's not, you are already off investigation. Don't make me repeat mys-"_

"I will not believe it until I confirm it myself."

_'….'_

"…."

_"…Huh, I know, I never win when you're like this, so I went ahead and cleared with them. So-"_

"Thank you…" Sae said without even waiting for him to finish.

"Well, your time will be cut short." The man near her took the phone and talked to her. "We can't permit you to stay too long with him. After all his methods are st-"

"Shut up." She cut the man off and walked to the door. 'Must have picked up from him.' After taking a breath, Sae opened the door where she can hopefully get her answers.

x-x

…*Creak*

The door opened and Akira looked at the door to see a silver haired woman in a black suit.

"You…" As the door was closed, the woman said to him while glaring at him with venom in her eyes.

'I feel like I know this lady…'

"Aren't you the kid from that shop?"

"S-shop?" *Bam* Akira got startled as the woman suddenly slammed her hands on the table.

"Why did you do that to him!? Aren't you his friend!? The woman shouted holding him by the collar.

"T-to who?"

"Don't play dumb with me! I know yo-" The woman's eyes strayed to the side.

….

"Damn it, these guys are asking for a lawsuit. Using stuffs like this to a minor." Saying that the woman finally calmed herself and sat on her chair.

'S-scary'

….

The woman said nothing for some time, just looking…correction, glaring at him.

….

"*Sighhh*" Finally she let out a sigh, and threw an open envelop towards him.

"What…what is this?" Akira said as he looked at the envelop, his eyes still a little hazy.

"Read it." The woman said, not looking at him.

Akira again with his shaky hands took the envelope.

_From Arisato…_

'Arisato…Ari-', "Senpai?" Akira said in surprise, but the woman said nothing still not looking at him.

Akira quickly took out the letter.

_From Arisato…_

_To Sae-san…But actually it doesn't matter if Makoto reads it, just the fact that it wouldn't make much difference. So, if Makoto read it, please put it back and please fold it neatly like I do. You may have a little trouble putting it back because the envelope is too small and the paper is too large, and the trick here is t-_

"Skip that. It's just his usual crap." Sae said to him rolling her eyes.

"…Oh." Akira while tempting, skipped through that and read the passages below that.

….

"This is…"

"I may have only known him for about a year but I know he doesn't do drugs." Akira looked up from the paper. "But, the fact is I met some addicts that make more sense than…than whatever that is."

"This-this…Ahhhh.", 'Everything is so hazy.'

"I'm sure that you're guilty…Everyone knows that you're guilty…" The woman said finally turning towards him. "And this might be his last request but…I will not help you if I don't know everything."

"Ev-everything?"

"Akira Kurusu, I will ask this off you. I want to hear everythings…every single little things that happened from the start. Every choices that led to this situation…"

'…Choices…'

"First…" Sae said taking a file out from her bag. "You must remember this day. It's the day you first arrived here and the day that incident happened."

"That…incident…Ahhh…", _'-With the wounded over a hundred and twenty deaths and still counting, this is the accident with most death to-'_

"Was that accident because of your phantom thieves?"

"No…" Akira said, almost like he's telling to himself. "No, i didn't even learn of it until a day later."

"But, you're already here at that time, weren't you?" Sae looked at him, searching for any clues that he's lying. "Kurusu, like I said…everything from the start."

"…." Akira looked at the woman in front of him. "At that time…I was-"

x-x

**Present**

…*Ding…Dong…*

….

"Uhhh"

…*Ding…Dong…*

….

"Ah, Hello! Is An-anybody home!?"

"Is Sakura-san here?"

….

'No answer, Just great…Today's off to a stupid start.'

"Are you looking for Sakura-san?", "Huh?"

"If you're looking for Sakura-san, he's not here. At this time of the day, he's just at his shop." A postman said to him while carrying boxes.

"…Shop?"

"Ah, It's on the alleyway over there." The man said pointing towards a street. "You actually can't miss it, it really stands out from the rest."

"Is that so? Uh…Thank you very much!" Akira said bowing to the guy. But, the man just shrugged back. Then with a turn he got out the street, towards the shop the man just pointed out.

….

…. And he still didn't notice a woman following him.

x-x

'Leblanc…Cafe. Leblanc…Lebwanc…Lebanc. Okay, that's enough.' Akira opened the door, which make the bells clang loudly.

The first thing Akira thought when he first entered the cafe was 'this place looks nice' the second wass 'Isn't this a little small?' the third was 'Why is this place small'…And the fourth was 'I should have stopped at third.'

"Huh?"

"Um?" Akira finally noticed a middle aged man with glasses and a weird goatee, reading a newspaper.

"Oh right, they did say it was today." The man put the newspaper down with a sigh.

"Ahhh, Akira Kurusu! It's an honor to make your acquaintance." Akira said bowing.

"Wha?" The man seemed surprised before his face broke into a grin. "Well, I was thinking what kinds of delinquent would shows up, but you seems well-mannered enough.", 'Yep! Scored!', "Hehhhh, I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody for this year."

After hearing that, Akira became to feel bad again. 'Ahhhhh…A year.'

And the man explained how he know his parents and how he accepted and stuffs that he stopped listening in the middle.

"But, well, not that it matters. Come on, follow me." Saying that, the man walked to the back.

"Huh. Ah, yes."

The man led him up a stairs to a some kind of attic, or is it?

"This is uhhh…this is, 'messy!', cozy." Akira said as he looked the place that was neck deep in dust with all sort of things cluttered on the floor.

"This is your room."

….

"What?"

"I know it's a little…dusty 'A little?', but it was on short notice. 'No, it was not.' So, You will have to live with it, I guess."

….

"I will give you sheets for your bed, though." The man said flashing a mocking smile.

"…Ahh, Thanks?"

"You're welcome." The man said turning around. "I'll be leaving after I lock up each day. You'll be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause trouble." With that said, he finally walked down the stairs…when Akira stopped him.

"Ahhh! Sakura-san!?"

"Huh?"

"…Umm, Can I have something to clean?"

x-x

**8:26 AM**

A couple of oldies walked out from the shop. They were talking among themselves to pay attention to us. No movement from the inmate.

**11:48 AM**

A woman that looked suspiciously like Margaret entered the shop. Still no movement from the inmate.

**12:06 PM**

The woman finally got out of the shop with the same frown Margaret always have when talking with that stupid convict and I'm starting to think 'Is this my long lost sister?' The woman didn't even looked at us and walked her way.

**02:37 PM**

The inmate made some kind of movement. He opened the window that seemed to be on the upstairs of the shop while coughing.…And that gave me the chance to look at his face closely. He seems…dumb and stupid but I don't think he's more stupid than the one at home.

**04:45 PM**

A warrior woman wearing a suit that looked like she just fights Orthrus and Fenrir at the same time, judging from the cuts from her pants, walked towards the shop. She looked at me weirdly. But, shrugged and walked inside the shop.…At that time I finally realized that from the moment I started to watch, excluding inmate, there's only three people that entered the shop. I can't help but worry for their business.

**05:28 PM**

A weird Jerkass with stupid blue hair walked near me and said, ''…What are you doing?" I ignored him…and, he didn't say any more.

….

And for some reason, that pissed me off more. I turned towards the jerk to see him still looking at me with his stupid eyes.

….

I didn't like the way he looked so, I decided I'd teach that punk a lesson. "HIYAH!"

….

Sadly, that drew too much attention so I have no choice but to retreat from the premise. But, at the very least, I was able to hit that jerk in the head, and hear him say, 'I'm sorry, Miss Caroline.' So, all in all it was pretty good day.

….

….

"…."

….

"…I feel like the last part is a little make-up."

"Why do you think that?" Caroline said back, messaging a big lump on her forehead.

"Why did you attack me out of nowhere?"

"Like I said, I don't like the way you look!"

"That's not good enough of a reason…" Minato said back with an annoyed face.

"*Sigh* , So Margaret, are you sure?"

"I'm sure. About 80%."

"…What's wrong with last 20%?"

"That I'm not sure."

….

"…Okay, …80%, Right? I will still take it. So, what are you guys waiting for? Call him in his dream, say his fate is blah, blah…blah, you are the fool, blah, blah, blah…show him a little card trick or two." Minato said dumping his bag on the floor.

"But, Makoto-sama, we can't do that." Justine said.

"…card tricks?"

"No, I can do tha-, I mean, forget about the card tricks!" Margaret said back glaring at the boy, who just shrugged back. "What she meant is we can't call him to velvet room."

"Oh, yeah? Then don't call him."

"But, we need to call him."

"Then do it."

"But, we can't call him."

"Margaret, what do you want me to say?" Minato said back in exasperated tone.

"…You've already forgot, don't you?"

"What?"

Margaret let out a long sigh. "We need your arcana for the velvet room!"

….

"…Oh."

"Honestly, Makoto-sama, you were not irresponsible this much before."

"People change,…whether they like it or not."

….

The atmosphere got suddenly got a little weird.

"So, any progress?"

"Nothing, I made friends…I think, but there's no social links or no burst of power."

"Are we missing something?" Margaret said thinking to herself.

"Nothing we can do about.…You said he wears the same uniform as me?" Minato said looking towards Margaret.

"Yes."

"Tomorrow, wait, it's Sunday, well, after that, then." Minato said while ruffling his hair.

"What's wrong with Sunday?" Caroline asked with a raised eyebrow.

"…The school's closed."

"Oh, that's true." Margaret said biting her thumb. '…why?', "So, Makoto-sama, what're you gonna do tomorrow?"

"…Sleep all day, of course."

x-x

**The Next day…**

….

"I thought I said I was gonna sleep all day." Minato whined to himself.

"But, we must check the wildcard." The answer from Justine came almost immediately.

"Yeah, why are you trying to sleep all day?" Caroline added in.

….

Minato checked his two teammates around him.

"…Where's Margaret?"

"She is preparing the compendium."

"Oh, please…." Minato turned towards Justine. "The only thing she's doing is reading that book. She just doesn't want to deal with Caroline."

''What!?"

"You were saying 'it's boring…it's boring', of course she's gonna be pissed."

"UCK!" Caroline face became pretty red. "W-well, it's really boring. Besides, you were also whining."

"I was whining because you wouldn't shut up." Both of them bickered along the way, while Justine just followed them quietly.

….

"We're here."

The trio stopped in front of a little shop that's called 'Leblanc Cafe'.

….

….

…*Glance*

….

….

Caroline turned towards him.

….

….

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know, what am I doing?"

"He's here!" Caroline said pointing towards the shop.

"So,…what do you want me to do?"

"Uh…Um, GAh! I don't know!"

"Why do you take me here, then?" Minato said sighing to himself.

"Uh…How about we just confirm he does really live here?" Justine intervened before they can make this a full blown argument.

….

"Good idea, Justine! Hah! You didn't even think of that, right, convict?"

"You didn't either." Saying that Minato walked towards the door.

….

….

"Well, open it!"

"It says it's closed." MInato said looking at the sign.

"What!?" Caroline walked over to him. "Why!?"

"How would I know? Aren't you the one who's supposed to be on the lookout?"

"What!? Are you saying it's my fault!?"

"I didn't say it's your fault…."

"But, that's what you're implying, right!?"

"…Maybe, but nevertheless I didn't say it's your fault."

"What kind of answer is that!?"

"*Sigh*" Justine can't help but sighed to herself that at her twin and her guest's antics. 'If he's not here, I wonder where the inmate is then?'

"Okay, I'm going home." Minato said turning around.

"No, you're not." Caroline said turning around. "I will die of boredom back there."

"That's better, one less mouth to feed."

"Is that something a Messiah's supposed to be saying?" Caroline said pulling his arm. "Besides, you didn't even give me anything to eat."

"Not too loud, beware of surr…oh…." Minato stopped talking,…Justine also turned around to see what he's looking at. "…Ahhh"

A woman in a lab coat was staring at them with the look that's awfully similar to Minato's expressionless face.

….

The woman walked along without saying anything.

….

"Makoto-sama, do you know her?"

….

"…Ahh…'' Justine turned towards him. "…I need to buy an umbrella." Minato said walking out of the street with Caroline following behind with an raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"…Is there anything you guys want to eat?"

"What?", "Why?"

"Meh, we're gonna just check along the way, I guess." Both her and Caroline looked at each other first before following him.

"What the hell!?", "I'm not sure."

….

'It's been a full week staying with Makoto-sama. But, I'm still not sure what is really going on his head…every single time.'

x-x

"You'll be expelled immediately if you cause any problems here.", '…Harsh.', "To be honest, I hesitated on accepting someone like you." The sorry excuse of a human(Not in a mean way, just…physically) of a principal said to him.

….

"I…uh understand."

"I'm Kawakami, your homeroom teacher. And here's your ID." She said taking out a card. "Here." Akira extends his hand to take it but the teacher just put it on the table.

'…I will try…not to think about that.', "Thank you, Ma'am." Akira said taking his ID.

"Ahem, when you come tomorrow, report to the faculty room first." The teacher said, not looking at him. "I…I will take you to class from there,"

"…Yes, Ma'am."

….

….

'Wow, the conversation's sparkling.', "Well, Sakura-san, Please keep an eye on him. See that he doesn't cause any trouble outside of school."

x-x

_Due to the subway accident, the schedule for all trains has been affected-_

"Another accident? There's been a lot of those lately." Sojiro said from beside him.

….

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Huh?" The man turns toward him.

"Why did you agree to take me in?" The man said back nothing for some time.

….

"Well, first I was asked and…I'm getting paid, so no reason t-"

"No, my question is…" Akira said looking at the man. "…why did you agree to take a criminal in?"

"Woah, there, kid, you got a record. You're not a full blown criminal yet."

"…." Akira stares at the man without turning away.

"…*Sigh* , it doesn't matter, is it? You are only going to be here for just a year, after that you go on your separate way and I went on with my life . Just don't get yourself involved in any nonsense. Even if something's happening in front of you, just pretend like you don't see it.…Is that satisfies you?"

"…I guess." Akira said looking around to the windows. '…the same old answer…Him, my parents…that teacher and principal…they may all act like they don't care…but at least tried to lie a little better, heh.', Akira let out a self-deprecating grin. '…Fine, if you all pretends around me then I will live my whole life here, pretending and if you're all planning to wear a mask around me then I will be the one you guys can't unmask no matter what.'

….

_'Don't be like that. Maybe at there, you will find some friends,…Friends who can understand you.'_

_…._

' _…_ For someone who's so invested in Truth, you sure do like to tell lies, Narukami-san.'

x-x

"I didn't learn about it until later, _…_ Heh, I was naive back then. I thought this was all a game. But, in a sick way, I was right…because turns out it's always a game for them."

"Them?"

" _…_ I don't know how to explain it to you." Akira said with same grin he has on that day.

" _…_ Fine." Sae said taking back the files then putting a photo of a man on the table. "You may be able to denies that but, don't try to deny this. We all know you're involved in this."

"…Ahh, Him."

"Suguru Kamoshida…A teacher from the Shujin Academy…and the first person for the so called 'change of heart' to occur." Sae said looking at him.

"I guess."

"And my question is how the hell did you do that?"

"It's in the letters, isn't it?"

"You expected me to believe that!?"

"Well, you wouldn't be here if you don't believe it."

….

"Don't be absurd. I'm only here because of this is his request." Akira scoffs a little which made his head hurts even more. "…Ow."

"Well, then I suppose…Explain…only truths."

x-x

…*Drippppp*

'…How many times do I have to delete this?' Akira thought to himself, looking at his phone. 'I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check it a little.' Akira touched the red eyeball icon.

Then a female student with a hoodie on came running towards the place where he's taking shelter from the rain. Then she took off her hood,(a little weird to say that) revealing the beautiful blond hair that was styled to twin tails. Her skin looks white and smooth while her blue little eyes that shone like diamond.

'…Just saying, I should become an poet.'

The girl suddenly turns towards him. She looks at him for sometime without saying anything. "…You are soaked…Ahe…haha." Saying that the girl lets out a soft laugh. '…pretty.'

"…Ah…wh-what is it?", 'Why is my voice shaking!?'

"Nothing." The girl said, still with the smile on her face. "Just remembering something."

"O-oh, is that so?"

"Don't worry, I'm not making fun of you." The girl said flashing him a smile.

"Oh, Um, it's ok-"

"Hey, you're going to be late!" Akira turns towards the voice to see a car stopping in front of them. "Takamaki, want a lift?" The man in a gym suits calls out from the car.

"…Uh…Sure, thank you." Saying that, the girl runs towards the car.

"Hah, it's alright." Then the man finally notices him. "Oh, do you want to come, too?"

"No, it's okay.", 'It's not but…it's not.'

"Sure, well then…" The man pulls his mirror up and drove off with the girl in tow.

'…does she look a little sad?', "Tch!", '…is this a meeting spot?' Akira turns towards the another voice that comes along.

"That Bastard Kamoshida…"

"Kamoshida?"

"Hm? It's that As*hole in that car, what do you think?"

"Um?", 'I'm not sure but I'm also not sure of what you're talking about?'

"Thinking he can do whatever he wants, who does he thinks he is, The King of the Castle?…Isn't that right?"

"…Uh.", 'Okay, you've officially lost me.'

"What? Why are you looking at me that way?"

"…Uh.", 'Should I say something? I feel like I should say something.'

"You…don't know?" The blonde haired boy looked at him carefully. "a second year…ohhhh, you're that guy."

"…that guy?", 'Oh, god, No, no! For god's sake, No!'

"Huh, you don't look like a…Uh, crap we're gonna be late.", ' I don't look like a crap…what?'

"The rain isn't this bad, Come on. Follow me, I know a shortcut." the boy said looking at him.

"…okay." After that the boy walked into the alleyway, when suddenly the world seemed to shift. "What?"

"Hey, what's wrong? Come on, we're gonna be late!" The blonde boy called out to him.

"Ah, sorry!", 'Must be my imagination.'

….Akira walked through the puddles of water, carefully avoiding them.

"Oh, shit. My pant's all we- what the hell?" The boy in front of him shouted loudly.

"Hm?" Akira quickly caught up to him. "What' wr…ong?" Then he saw what the boy's is looking at.

A…castle

….

'Whattttttt?'

….

"…Oh, it's my school."

"Of course, it's not your school!" The boy beside him shouted loudly.

"Huh, but it says Shujin Academy right there." Akira said pointing.

"HUH! NO, IT DOE-, oh, it does."

….

Both of them stares at the sight in front of their eyes. A full blown castle with bridges and all that…in the middle of the city.

….

"Well, let's go."

"Dude, there's a limit to how easy going you can get." Although saying that, the boy follows him, walking inside the castle. "Are you sure we should went inside?"

" _…_ I don't know.", 'I really don't know.', "Maybe we can ask someone."

"Yeah, yeah, let's do that." The blonde haired boy said closely following behind him, while watching around the place.

….

….

'I don't want to go!'

x-x

''Good morning, Arisato-san." Haru said to the boy who's just nodded back. Minato took out his chair and sat without really saying or looking at anything. "It looks like you remember to take your umbrella today."

"…I suppose."

….

The conversation died down pretty fast.

"…Ah…Okumura-san, this may be a little late but…were you there when that train derailed?"

"No, I don't ride the train, my family chaperones me everyday." The girl said, a little fidgeting.

"…I see." But, Minato didn't comment on that.

"But, I heard it was really scary. A-and…you were there with Makoto-san, right?" The girl asked, coming a little closer to him.

"…yeah.''

"Together?"

"…Kinda…"

"Together, together or…Just together?"

_….'_ _…_ What?'

"…I don't und-" Minato turned towards her, but something stopped him. Outside the window, there's a little girl waving at him and shouting. He couldn't hear what she's shouting but he knew it's not something he should hear. And he knew that girl. "Uh…"

"Please answer the question." the girl asked again, he couldn't care about that. He's already in the middle of standing up.

"…Ah, Okumura-san…I need to excuse myself…I have something to…uh…Maybe next time." Minato quickly walked out of the class.

"Uh, Wait…." Minato ignored her and walked towards the door. *Slides* , "Arisato-san, what are you doing? Homeroom's about to start." The teacher stopped him before he can gets out.

"…I…Uh…I", '…Uh…Um.', "I have…Um…something…something to do…", 'What is that? What is that!? What the hell is that!?'

"Are you not…feeling well?" His teacher asked him when she's sure that she's not gonna get anything from him.

"Yes…" Minato nodded. "Yes…I'm not feeling well, so, I'm going to the…to the….", "Nurse office?", "Nurse office, yeah."

"Okay, do you know whe-"

"I know where is it, thank you and…Good bye." saying that Minato closed the door and got out.

….

"Good bye?" The teacher said with an raised eyebrow. "Yep, he doesn't know where the nurse office is…Niijima-san?"

"Yes?"

"Can you show him where is it?"

"…Uh,yes, of course." Makoto said after getting out of the chair and also walks out of the door. 'Why did I feel like someone's glaring at me?'

…*Slides*

"*sigh* I know you're not sick, Arisato-san, so why did you li-*Glance, glance* , Arisato-san?"

x-x

'That idiot, stupid, useless, good for nothing God. I know he saw me.'

'Just because he bought me a cake, he thinks he can make me do whatever he wants!'

"I swear, I will make sure that when he gets ho-, "What?", "WAGAHHHHHHHHH-Mmphhhhh!" Minato closed her mouth with his hand before her shout can attract wildlife.

"Blergh! What took you so long!?"

"It's not long. It's only been five minutes."

"Five minutes is long!"

"…*Sigh*…I told you to tail the wildcard…not to call me."

"That's why I'm calling you, the inmate! He vanished!"

"What?" Minato stared at the girl like she's just grown a second head. "…So, you lost him."

"NO! I said, He VANISHED! He just entered this dark street, and I didn't see him anymore!" Caroline said pointing towards the alleyway.

"…Didn't he just go into the school and you just didn't notice…"

"No!…Uh…Maybe…No, wait. I'm sure. He did vanish into thin air!"

"…Vanished?" Minato looked towards the alleyway. '…Did he…no, I'm not sure…But, maybe…', "Let's just check it first."

"I suppose.…yeah, you're right." Saying that both of them also entered the alleyway.

-x-x-


	12. Thy True Self

?

"Hey."

"Uhhh.", 'This might be stating the obvious,…but this doesn't look like my school.'

"Hey!…HEY!" The blonde boy beside him said, looking around the place. "…What the hell is this place?"

"Ahhh" The place that had the sign of his school was actually not a school. It had the looks of a medieval castle on the outside. But in the inside, it also actually looked like a medieval castle.

There's a long winded stairs, Big pictures, a chandelier with the size of his room and of course Knights in steel armor.

'…I'm sorry, what?' Both him and the boy turned towards the newcomer, a big burly man in an armor with what looked like a mask on his face.

"Whoa! What the hell is that? A costume!?" The blonde haired boy exclaimed, walking towards the man.

'Hey, I don't need to remind you that that the kind of talk is what get you killed first in horror movies.' Is what he's thinking, but of course the only thing that came out from his mouth was…

"Uhhhhh."

"Amazing, This is so dope!" The blonde haired boy said carefully examining the 'costume'. "Okay! Enough of this! Come out! Whoever you are, the prank is over!" The boy shouted suddenly.

…*Clank, Clank* And his shout seemed to attract somethings. Three others wearing the same 'costume' came out and surrounded them.

"H-hey", The boy said in a shaking voice. "Th-these guys are starting to give me creeps, let's get ou-outta here!" Saying that, he turned towards him.

"T-true." And he replied back in an equally shaking voice. With that both of them turned towards the entrance back to run when another came out and hit the blonde haired boy with it's shield in the face. *Clang* , "Ah!"

"Huhh!?" Akira looked at his back as the men before surrounded the falling boy. "Hey, what are you guys doing to him!?" Akira ran up to him as he shouted. "Isn't this supposed to be my scho-" *Clang* , Akira didn't finish his words as something also hit him in the head.

x-x

"Do you feel anything?"

"Do I suppose to?" Minato answered back Caroline's question. They were in the alleyway where the wildcard got spirited away…or so she said. "Maybe he's already in school…"

"No!" The answer came almost immediately. "How many times do I have to tell you!? He vanished!"

"I get it. No need to shout so much."

"Stupid, idiot, buffoon…" Caroline named him with every insults she could think of, then continued searching. For what he didn't know.

….

"Does he seem strange at that time?"

"…No."

….

"…And anything strange around him?"

"Umm, No. He's just talking normally with another guy."

….

'…Hm?'

"What did you just say?" Minato asked turning around.

"Huh?" Caroline also turned towards him with an raised eyebrow.

"Just now." Minato said looking at the girl weirdly. "What did you say, just now?"

"Ahhhh" Caroline looked at him weirdly before continuing. "He was just talking…with an another guy?"

….

….

'Oh For Pete's Sake!'

"Another guy!? Where's that guy now!?"

"Huh? Um, ahhhh," Caroline became tongue-tied at Minato's out of character outburst. "Ahhhh, he vanished with him too. I don't know! Why are you shouting at me!?"

"What's that guy looks like? Is he a shadow? A demon? Or don't tell me, another god!?"

"What!?" Caroline eyes went wide the size of her head. "I mean, Um, I-I don't know. He looks and talks like a normal human!" Caroline answered back scratching her head.

"Well, I look and talk like a normal human!" Minato said pointing to himself.

"Ahhhhh! I don't knooowwww. How can I supposed to tell!?"

"Ahhhhh…" Minato let out a long gurgling noise, holding his head. "Ummm…"

"What!? I mean, I'm not sure but I think he's a human!"

"Ahhhh, that doesn't matt-Wait…" Suddenly Minato got a idea, then he took out his phone.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked looking at him.

"Whoever that guy is…the wildcard truly did enter this alleyway but ends up in another place…" Minato said opening his phone.

"So?" Caroline said, walking near him.

"It's the same as when you two ambushed me."

"…What?" Caroline thought back to herself. "You mean in Mementos!?"

Minato didn't say anything back and opened the navigator app. "It's a long shot but let's see…" Minato touched the screen. _"Destination: Mementos. Navigation beginning…"_

….

"…?"

Minato looked around the place.

….

"…So, are we in mementos now?"

"Oh, right, I forgot!" Caroline suddenly shouted and he turned towards her. "You have to be near the place for that to work."

"What?"

"It's the station."

"Whaaatttt? Say sooner." Minato sighed loudly.

"We-well, it was sudden, so of course I forgot a little. Don't blame me." Caroline said back, frowning.

"…So now what?" Minato checked around the place again.

….

"Oh!" After some time, Caroline shouted. "You were investigating that wounded students in this school, right?" Minato's eyebrows twitched but she didn't notice that. "What happened to that?"

"It…has nothing to do with shadows or…this matter right now."

"So you found out about what's happening, then?"

"Yeah,…but Like I said, it's not something we should concern ourselves with." Minato tried to change the subject but Caroline didn't let up.

"What? I want to know. Why were they hurt?"

"It's just…uhhh…" Minato stopped talking and turned around.

"Hey, answer me! Are you hiding something!?" Caroline said walking to the front of him.

"No, it's just…it's just a teacher abusing his students, Okay. Nothing Shadow related. Nothing we should be concerned with." Minato said in an annoyed voice.

"What? A teacher!?" Caroline seemed surprised at that. "So, what did you do?"

"What do you mean what did I do? I did nothing." Minato said turning around again.

"What!?" Caroline said walking over him again. "Aren't they your friends!?"

"No, they are not." Minato's reply came fast.

"But,…but what kind of Messiah are you if you don't help people in need!?"

"The kind of Messiah That Has More Important Matters to Attend to! Now, can we please Focus on the Wildcard?" Minato said in an uncharacteristically loud voice and Caroline stammered a little at that.

But, she steeled herself fast. "No! this is important!" Saying that she took the phone out of Minato's hand.

"What are yo-"

"What is that teacher's name?"

"What?"

"The one you said who's abusing his student!" Caroline shouted back to him.

"Why would that matte-"

"Remember what Justine said? Your school could be a Palace. A corrupt teacher like that fits the criteria to have one."

"…Really?" Minato said with his eyes a little wide. "…Well, I think it was Sumoshi-Uh, no,…Kamoshida…Suguru or something."

Caroline quickly typed the name, and the word 'HIT' appeared on the screen, making Caroline face broke into a smile. "Gotcha!" Minato stared at the phone with an indiscernible face. "The closest thing would be your school…" Caroline typed his school name, looking at the big sign, and the screen showed the words 'HIT' again. "Yes!" Caroline shouted again. "But now, the tricky part…" Caroline tried to think. 'but, really, what would comes out of it…?'

"I will take it from here…" Minato, still with the expressionless face, took back his phone.

"You have an idea?"

"No…But, I will think of one." Minato looked at the phone, his face still showing no emotions. "You said that it's supposed to be their delusions for the reality, right?"

"Huh?" Caroline thought back to herself. "That's not what I said but yeah, that makes sense." Caroline admitted, looking at him.

"So, it's not that hard if we look at them from their psychological standpoint."

"You can do tha-", "Hush…", Minato stopped her. 'I have to think back to my encounter with him…but, first the obvious.'

_Torture room, Prison, Jail, Jail cell_ ,… _fitness center…_

''No hits.'' Caroline said from beside him.

**_He, himself was a student of this school._ **

' _Shujin Academy, the past…_ Nope.'

**_He gets along well with his fellow faculty and most of the student body love him._ **

' _Faculty, Contest, Festival…_ Nope.'

**_As I said before, Kamoshida-sensei is an Olympics gold medal winner._ **

'Olympics…then… _Greece, Rome,…Stadium,…Field,_ …No luck.'

Minato thought back to the evening of that day…

**_You guys should revere me as your king! I'm the only who make your life worthy here!_ **

'King… _kingdom, country, city. W_ ell, it's Palace so, might be a building…, _fortress,…castle_ …'

_'Destination found…'_

"*Sigh*"

"Gotcha! Yes!" Caroline loudly shouted from beside him. "Hah! You're so great!" Caroline said putting her hand up and turning to him with a bright smile.

….

"…."

"…?" She still had her hand up with a bright smile on her face.

….

"What?" At Minato's question, her smile started to twitch.

"Tch, Nothing." Caroline put her hand back down. "…Stupid, dense, inconsiderate jerk."

"…What?"

"Nothing! I said it's nothing!"

….

"*Sigh* , Okay, now we just need to go, Uh…Caroline?" Minato glanced towards her.

"Hm?"

"Is that place the same as Mementos?"

"That man's palace? Well, the laws would be the same but…the place will be wholly different."

"I see. So, I don't need to remember nothing new, huh?"

"Yeah! So, What are we waiting for? Let's g-" Caroline said smiling, but Minato stopped with his hand. "What?"

Minato turned towards the opposite end of the alleyway. "…Did you hear that?"

"What?" Caroline looked at the place he's looking, but she couldn't see much because of the darkness. "I don't hear an-" Minato stopped her again.

"Quiet…" Then he tiptoed towards the shadow.

Caroline stared at him before she realized something. "Was that like back there again?" Caroline said, remembering about their time after that fight with the false god. 'No way, is the crawling chaos here!?'

"I'm not sure…" Minato slowly moved with his phone in hand.

"Wait, Convic-Mako-Makoto! It's dangerous!"

"Hold on." Minato walked over there as much quietly as he could, and he's already a safe distance away from Caroline.

….

….

"Huhh,"

"Wh-what?"

"Hm…Must be my imagination. And on that subject, hey, Can you cook dinner tonight?"

"What?" Minato hit the button and the world around him started to shift. Caroline stared at him for a second before it hit her. "WHAT!?" Caroline ran towards him but it was too late, "What The Hell!" Minato vanished into thin air as he alone was transported to the palace. "Wait! wait! wait!"

…*SHIZZ*…

….

Caroline stared at the place where the Messiah was standing before with her mouth wide open.

….

"Damn it…" Caroline breathed loudly.

….

"Damn iiiittttt…

MAKOTO! I HATE YOU! YOU STUPID MESSIAH!"

**Somewhere In Shujin Academy**

"What?" Makoto Niijima looked out of the window, stopping her search for the runaway student.

….

"Who's that?"

x-x

'Wher-Oh god not again…' Akira hazily opened his eyes to see the brick walls on his head. He craned his head a little to see chains on the wall. 'Oh god, not that goblin again! That gives me nightmares!'

"Hey, Enough of this crap! Let us outta here!" , 'Wait, I know that voice…'

"Listen! Dammit!", Akira turned towards the loud voice, mostly because he's too loud but no one's gonna say that to his face, of course. But, then…

Akira saw the knight in a blue mask standing in front of their cell door. 'so, it was not a dream…shit…'

"Hey, don't ignore me! You dic-", "Silence!" A distorted voice, but he's sure it's a man, said, making the blonde haired boy go…silent *Clang. clang*

"Huh, I was thinking what kind of brats they picked up. So, it was you, Sakamoto." A man in a glitter robe appeared with two of the knights like from before on his side.

"Kamoshida!?" The boy '…Sakamoto, was it?', Sakamoto identified the man in front of him as 'Kamoshida'. "What the hell is that crazy outfit!?"

'Wait, didn't I see that guy before?' Akira thought back to the man in a gym suit. '…He's not in the gym suit, but that nose is unmistakable!'

"Hm! You sneaked into my castle, then you performed the highest crime of possible. You dare insult your king!?" The man said in an angry voice, before his face broke into an evil grin. "Right, that's it. Death is only fitting for a criminal like you…Guards!" At the man's words, the knights opened the cell door and entered the place, making the boy recoiled in fear.

"Come now. Sakamoto. It's your execution."

"What the hell are you talking about? Execution…Don't joke around." Then the boy noticed him, and equally making the man noticed him of course.

"Huhhh, so there's still someone who hangs out with you, Sakamoto. But, who the hell are you?"

"Ahhhh", 'Crap, this guy's bad news.'

"Don't f*ck around with me!" But, the shout from the boy beside him, turned his attention away from him. "Who do you think you are, Kamoshida!? Now let us out of here!"

"Heh, the dog's still barking. You never learn, don't you, Sakamoto? I'm the King of this Castle! My words are absolute. But, well, that will only be wasted on dogs like you. Guards! Hold him down!" At the man's order, the men in the knight suits walked over to them.

"Hey,"

"Huh?" Akira turned towards the boys. "These guys are serious, we must get out of here."

"Ye-yeah." Akira nodded to him then with a shout and the boy rammed the knight in front of him.

"Now!" Both Akira and him tried to ran towards the door, but the one of the guards around them hit the blonde haired boy with its shield. "Ahhh!"

"Sakamoto-san!"

"Run!" The boy gurgled out those words.

"But…"

**_"Please let me go!"_ **

**_"Ha!? Just get in the car!"_ **

"But…"

**_"Ahh!"_ **

**_…._ **

**_"Damn brat, I'll sue."_ **

"…Run…", "No, I won't, I will not leav-"

' _Just don't get yourself involved in any nonsense.'_

"Huhhh, Running away? what a heartless friend you are." The man said then turned to the boy on the ground, "I suppose only trash would talks with you now, huh? Sakamoto!" The man kicked the boy in the chest.

"Ack!" Sakamoto cried out in pain and the man seemed to take delight on it as he continued kicking him again.

"Huh? Huh!? You dare defies me!? Trash like you!?"

"Ahhh…wh…at a…re…ru…n." The boy said in pain.

"Umm, hey!" Akira tried to walk towards them but the guards stopped him by barring him.

_'E_ _ven if something's happening in front of you, just pretend like you don't see it.'_

'Damn it.' Akira looked at the boy still being kicked like a dog. "Sorry." With that Akira turned around to leave when…

"Hoi! Look over here!", "Huh?" The man stopped kicking the boy and turned towards the voice as both him and the guards also did to see a weird cat like creature.

"Wait, aren't you the one I cau-", "Zorro!" The man didn't even finish his sentence as the creature shouted loudly and a glass breaking sound was heard, then a black being with a sword appeared behind him.

"What?", "The hell?" Both him and Sakamoto said looking at the creature…with the creature behind him when some kind of shadow walked past the guards, coming near him. "What?"

"Get out…" Saying that the shadow kicked him or pushed him through the door, blowing him towards the creature's feet. "Woahhhh!"

"Huh? Who the hell are you!?" Kamoshida said to the one who kicked him out and he also took a good look at him…to see a boy with blue hair that covered half of his face, wearing the same uniform as him.

"Huh! YOU ARE THE-" The man, Kamoshida, loudly shouted pointing at the blue haired boy. But, he didn't even pay attention to that.

"Now!"

"Here it comes, Garula!" The creature beside him shouted and a large gust of wind blew towards the cell, making everyone in there blown towards the wall, "Oof!", "Ahhhhh!", "Woahhhhh!", The last one was him.

But the blue haired boy skillfully rolled over through the hardy wind and picked up Sakamoto. Then he ran out of the cell.

"Wait! Aren't you that weird third year transfer student!?" Sakamoto said looking at the boy who's carrying him.

"I…suppose so."

"Wait!" Sakamoto said before moving out and closing the cell door. And then he picked up the keys on the ground and threw them away. "Let's go!"

"Hey, Don't you hear the blondie? Let's go!" The cat like creature beside him said.

"Yes…" Akira quickly got up to follow them and he notices the blue haired boy looking at him. "Umm, thank you for saving us."

"…."

No reply came back. Not even a nod. 'Did I offend him somehow?'

"Guards!" Kamoshida shouted from the cell door.

"Thank him later, frizzy hair. We must get out of here fast!" The weird thing said to him again.

"O-okay." Saying that Akira followed Sakamoto and the blue haired boy with that weird creature with weird head in tow. Leaving the man, still shouting in the cell.

"Guards! Guards! Don't let them escape! Especially that blue haired brat!"

x-x

They ran for some distance before stopping at a place that seemed to be safe. …Well, he knew nowhere was safe here but, that blonde haired boy was pretty wounded.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" The blonde haired boy said to his savior, still with bruises and blood on his lips. "How the hell do you get here!?"

"Shut up. You're too loud." Minato said, looking around himself.

"Damn it. Just answer my question!" But, the boy did not stop being loud.

"*Sigh*" Minato turned towards him with an annoyed face. "I was walking to the school then suddenly I was here."

"That's how we end up here too!" the black haired kid with glasses said, catching his breath. He stared at the kid for a time.

"…Are you the transfer student?"

"Huh? Uhh, Yes, Akira Kurusu. I just got transferred today." The boy said, looking at him.

"Minato Arisato…I'm also a transfer student…"

"Huh…" The boy smiled. Then he noticed the pin on his collar. "Ahhh, Nice to meet you, Senpai. And this is Sakamoto…uh, Sakamoto…" The boy said again, bowing to him, then pointing at the boy on the ground.

"Ryuji. It's Ryuji Sakamoto…But, damn it! why are you two idiots introducing like everything's okay!? Well, news flash! Everything's not okay!" The bruised boy said in his loud voice again.

"…I told you, you're being too loud."

"That's normal! The question is why are you being so calm!?" The boy said standing up and walking to him. "You know something, Don't you?"

"Hey, Sa-sakamoto-san." Akira walked up to him with the intent of stopping him…But, really it's not needed.

"…I don't know what to tell you. I'm in the dark as much as you guys are."

"And we're just supposed to believe that!?"

"…Well,…yeah." Honestly, That's not a lie. He didn't really know anything about this place.

"Hey, we must get out of here fast. They are searching for us even now." In fact, he didn't even know what the hell was that thing he picked up.

The weird thing…which has been introduced to him as Morgana came towards him. "Most of them are still saving their king. But, it won't be long before they found us."

….

'…Here it comes.'

Minato tried his best first. "Okay, don'-"

"What the Hell is that thing!?" Ryuji shouted loudly, pointing at…The Morgana. Minato clutched his head in annoyance. "Dude, I mean what!? Is that a monster!?"

"Who are you calling a monster!?"

"I mean, What the hell are you!?"

"Ah, Sakamoto-san, calms down." The wildcard stopped the boy by holding his shoulder. 'at least, he got his head.'

"I mean, Isn't that a cat?" ,'Oh great, another idiot.'

"What, a cat!? Are you out of your mind? Are you Out Of Your Damn Mind!? It doesn't look like a cat! It does not even remotely looks lik-oh, it looks like a cat…"

"I'm not a cat!"

"Okay, that's enough. Shut up." Minato stopped the impending chaos.

"Dude, is that thing yours?" Ryuji asked him.

"I'm not a thing. I have a name. it's Morgana!"

"Whatever, did you take him with you?" Minato stared at the boy like he's the most stupid thing in the world.

"…What do you think? Of course, I take a weird pet that can talk on my walk to school."

….

"…Just saying 'no' is fine. No need to get sarcastic with me." Ryuji said scratching his head.

"So, how did you two meet?" Akira asked still looking at the cat.

"Um…", 'so…How do I lie? I mean…how do I bend the truth here?'

x-x

**Some minutes ago…**

….*Fizzz, Shizz*…

The world around him started to shift then the face of Caroline running up to him disappear. Minato looked around the place and he seemed to be in the same alleyway.

"…Is this…am I…", Well, he didn't see Caroline anymore. So, he can say that it did move him somewhere.

_'_ _Destination reached…Navigation successful.'_ Minato checked his phone. 'So, it's a success.' Then he walked out of the alleyway, but another voice came from his phone.

_"…Updated_. _Voice recognition system added."_

Minato looked at his phone again to see a little mic button at the corner.

….

Minato checked around his surroundings.

'Now, that is weird.' Minato finally got out of the alleyway to see his school…not, a castle in it's place.

….

'Well…now this is more weird.' Minato carefully observed the building.

'…A castle…', then he turned towards his surroundings again. Everything looked the same as the place in the outside world…everything except this castle. Even the buildings on the street and clouds in the sky.

….

'There is a world inside every human's heart. Huh, wonder what my heart looks like?' Minato touched the place where his heart is…or was…

….

"No time for that." With that Minato walked inside the castle, taking out something from his shirt. A revolver with the words S.E.E.S on it.

…*Creak*

Minato opened the large door and looked inside…to see nothing. *Left…Right…Left…* 'Can't bother with the right, again.'

Minato walked up the stairs and went face to face with a large painting of…Kamoshida in a crown and some kind of robe.

….

'This painting…'

"Hey, is there an another intruder?" A distorted voice was heard, and he quickly moved towards the wall trying to hide. '…Wait, why am I trying to hide?'

"Maybe it's an false report." Another distorted voice similar to the first one, but a little different, said. Minato moved a little to get a better look. A two…things in a suit of black armor with weapons in hand was talking. Although they were talking, their faces, which looked a lot like masks, weren't moving. 'Shadows…wait, shadows can't talk.…Well, Ryoji was an exception.'

Minato carefully looked at them. Although with their masks on, they still seemed to act like humans, with emotions behind their voice. …Even more so than him.

'That's kinda sad…'

"Yeah, do you remember about that thing? It was so weird, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it kept shouting 'unhand me, unhand me' but it didn't even have an hand,…it has paws, Bwahahaha!" The two? laughed among themselves almost like middle aged old man.

"So, what happened to the intruders before?", '…Intruders?' Minato moved a little more to hear better.

"Oh, those twos? I took them to the dungeons. It looks like King Kamoshida is gonna punish them personal-" *Bam* The knight stopped talking as the one in front of him got suddenly crushed into pieces…Literally. "Wha-" The he also got suddenly pinned into wall by a blue haired boy. "Ah!"

Everything happened in under one second that they hadn't even got a chance to react.

"Where are they?" Minato asked in a soft voice.

"Who are you!?

"Where are the intruders?" Minato asked again, putting pressure on the thing's neck.

"Mmmphhh, GAH, I will never betray King Kamosida!"

"I don't care. Where are they?"

"I will nev-" Minato's face shifted into bone-like mask with the surrounding became suddenly green. "-errrrrr, they are in the dungeons."

….

'Well, now that was easy.', "And where are the dungeons?" The knight pointed into the one of the door at the end of the hallway with shaking hand as Minato looked towards it. "Thank you…"

Minato stopped pinning him and he fell to the floor in a heap. *Clang*

….

"You know…technically, Paws also count as hands."

"Wha-" The knight vanished into black ichor, leaving no trace that it even existed.

x-x

…*drippppppp* …

'A river…'

…. *Drippppppp* …

'A river, really?' Minato crouched down to get better look at the water flowing between two walk spaces.

The water looked incredibly like…well, water. And there were even sea weeds and other things in it.

Minato looked at the water to see his face reflected on it.

….

'Can I drink it?' Minato scooped up the water with his hand.

….

… *Sniffs* 'No smell. That's a good thing, right?'

Minato carefully looked at the liquid on his hand.

…

'It's not like I can get diseases, so…' Minato scooped up more with both of his hands. 'Bottoms up.' With that Minato drank the water that's on the underground level with sea weeds growing, and that was even not real but made by a man's delusions.

….

'…Now that I think it out loud, this doesn't seem like a good idea.'

"Hey, Hey! You! Yes, you over there!" Suddenly a pesky voice called out from across the river.

Minato looked at the voice to see a bobcat waving at him. Then he turned to his surroundings.

"No! You! You with the one eye!"

"…Me?" Minato said pointing to himself.

"Yes, can you come over here for a sec?"

….

'…why not?' Minato stood up walks over the bridge to get to the bobcat.…But, that's when he realized. He may have never seen a bobcat. But, he's 60% sure that…they don't look like whatever that is.…And of course, most important of all, bobcats don't talk. But then again, he had never seen one.

The thing inside the cell, with feline ears?, very big round eyes on very big round head that's wearing a scarf and…a belt? said to him.

"Why are you drinking water from that river, that's dangerous."

"…I don't really feel anyth-"

"Besides, it's connected to the drain pipe."

….

Minato and The bobcat? stared at each other for sometimes.

….

"Ah, Crap…", "Yeah, Craps an-", "Okay, stop talking."

"Heheh, but don't worry." The bobcat? said in a smug voice. "That's not real water. They only exist in the mind of the ruler of this Palace. So, basically it's fake."

'…how does it know this?', "…Is that so?" Minato's hands wavered towards the evoker on his waist.

"Yeah, so even the crap water you dran-"

"Okay, that's enough. Shut up." Minato stopped him before he could go…well, he already did, but…

"That's Useful Info, right? Right? So, let's make a deal." The bobcat? said frantically waving at him.

"A deal?"

"You wandered through here unknowingly like those two from before, right? Well, those two are already caught, so shame but if you get me OUT of here, I will help you escape."

"Get you out?"

"Yeah, see that key over there? You can use that to open it." The bobcat? said pointing at the key's within it's arm reach. 'Oh, wait…paws.'

"I see, but…how are you gonna help me escape? There's monsters in here.", 'playing dumb…'

"Hehehe," The bobcat?, '…I should really ask it's name', let out a low laugh. "Don't you know who I am?"

"No."

"N-no, it's-it's an rhetorical question. Ahem! I am the Great Morgana. Those weaklings Shadows don't stand a chance against me!", 'Morgana' introduced himself with some kind of pose.

….

"…but, don't you get caught?", "That's because I was caught off guard and I was tired at that time! Now stop asking questions and free me!" 'Morgana' demanded, waving his little paw hands and of course Minato walked to take the keys to open the door.

"…Before I open this, what are you again?"

"Why, I'm a human, of course."

….

"…Ah, I see."

"Hey, you don't believe me, don't you!?"

"Why, I don't believe you, of course.", "Woi!" *Click* With a noise, the door opened and came out the great Morgana.

"Hah! Freedom tastes so good!" The 'Morgana' Shouted loudly. "So, one eye, let's get out of her-"

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" The knight from like before came out and said to them.

'…Ah, Man.' Although he didn't really need it, Minato instinctively took out his evoker and aimed at his head. "Come, Tha-'', "Hey, what the hell are you doing?" But, before he could fully summon, Morgana tackled him. Making his evoker flew away from his han-*Pew*

"Huh?", "Hm?" The knight and him looked at the hole in the wall, that was still smoking.

….

'Whaaattt?' Minato then saw his evoker on the ground, 'Does that came out from…wait, my evoker!' and he tried to run there to take it back but Morgana was still holding him. "Hey, unhand me… I mean, unpaw me!"

"What do you think you're doing? Shooting yourself in the head?"

"You don't get i-", "Heh, see how a true Pro fight." Morgana jumped down from his chest towards the knight who's still looking at the hole.

"Come, Zorro!" Morgana loudly shouted and the knight finally took his attention away from the hole. '…What?'

A being shining in blue in a black suit appeared behind Morgana.

"What?!" The knight exclaimed in surprise. '…A persona?'

"Blow them away." True to his words, the persona slashed it's rapier in the air and a gust of wind blew the knight towards the cra-, ahem, normal river. "Whaa, gulp, gulp." The knight seemingly got drown in the very…VERY clean river.

"Hehe." Morgana smirked loudly and the persona behind him vanished. "So, impressive, huh?" Then he turned towards him.

"Ah,…Yeah.", '…Why is that thing have a persona? But, Before that' Minato got up and walked over to his evoker.

"What the hell were you thinking? Trying to kill yourself?"

"Ah, No." Minato picked up his gun off the ground. "I mean, this is not even a real gun." Minato said examining the gun.

"Heh, that's why I don't want to work with amateurs." Morgana said smugly. "Listen here, this is world of people's cognitive. So even a toy, even if it's not real, can be used as a gun if it looks real enough…I think."

….

"So, what you're saying is because this is the people's delusions taking form…all the other delusions also become real?" Minato said as he aimed his gun at the wall again. *Pews*…A reddish purple laser came out.

"Well, that's not how I put it. But, that's still correct. I guess. But, seriously though, why did it shoot laser beam?"

"I don't know. There's not really anything in…" Minato stopped talking in the middle of sentence. 'Misturu-senpai did say it was made with using Nyx fragments.', "…Maybe there's something in here."

"What kind of thing shoots out lasers? It made a hole in the wall." Morgana said looking at the hole on a very thick brick wall. "But, it doesn't matter now. Let's get outta here!" Morgana said turning around.

"Wait." But at Minato's voice he turned back around. "Wha-" To see him put his gun on it's face.

….

"Eh?"

"You said there's other two, right? Help me save them…that is if you don't want a place for a third eye…"

….

"Ehhhhhhh!?"

x-x

**Present**

'…And that's basically what'd happened so far,'

"…."

"So?"

"…."

"Hey, are you ignoring us!?"

"Shut up, I said you're too loud. Basically, I ended up here…and met him.", 'Well, that's as good as any excuse goes.'

"What!? That's it?" Ryuji said with an raised eyebrow. "That doesn't explain anything."

"Besides," The wildcard said still not taking his eyes off from Morgana. "…Isn't this cat female?"

….

….

'Damn it, Elizabeth!'

"I'm a boy!…I think. And I told you I'm not a cat!"

"Okay, enough is enough. We've wasted enough time here.…Hey, can you run?"

"Yeah, I got it." Ryuji replied Minato's question while checking his leg. "Not that fast though."

"Doesn't matter. Kurusu?"

"Hm? Yeah?"

"You watch out for him."

"Yes, Of course!" Akira nodded enthusiastically.

"Hey, who are you to order us around?" Ryuji whined while scratching his head. "And you seem so used to it."

"Hey, Blondie, That doesn't matter. We must get out of here first. Come on, follow me!" Saying that Morgana ran towards the clearing.

"Why is everyone ordering us around?", "Umm, but, we should follow her…him though." , "No choice, I guess." Saying that his two juniors went after the…Morgana.

….

"He hasn't awaken yet?"

x-x

"Hnngh, huhhh, huuh, hey are you sure this is the right way!?" Ryuji asked the still running thing in front of him.

"Ahh, hnngh, yeah, I think we've been running for sometimes." The wildcard also whined in. 'Ahaha…Um, no. Not the time.'

Minato followed after them without making as much as a sound.

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

….

'…No, that's not me.'

"What the hell is that?" Ryuji stopped running as all the others, as they all heard a scream.

"I think…it's a human's voice." Akira said listening to the scream that was still going strong.

"A human!? Hey, monster cat!? Didn't you say that we're the only one here!?"

"I'm not a monster cat! But, yeah, we are the only ones here, Ummmm…more precisely we are the only real ones here."

"What? Explain in a way I can understa-", "Sakamoto, is that you?", "Hm!?" Ryuji stopped himself and turned towards the voice as Minato and Akira also looked…to see a boy in a red suit in a cell.

"What?" Ryuji carefully looked at the boy before something hit him. "Aren't you the one from volleyball club!? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Blondie! Didn't you listen to me!? We are the only real ones here! All of those other people are fake!"

"Fake? What do you mean?" Akira asked but he didn't divert his attention from the boy in the cell. "B-but he doesn't seem fake."

"Yeah! Hey, hold on. I'm gonna get you out of here!" Ryuji said as he tried to open the cell door. "Damn it, where the hell is the keyhole!?"

"Hm, don't bother." , "What?" They all looked at the boy. "If I escape now, it will only make my life worse."

"What are you talking about!?"

"You of all people should know, Sakamoto. What'd happen when you defies Kamoshida…"

"Kamoshida!? What's that bastard has to do with any of thes-", "Hey, we got company…" Before Ryuji finished his sentence, Minato interrupted him.

"What?"

"There they are!" Multitude of voices sounded near them before dozens of knights appeared in front of them. "Anyone who defies King Kamoshida must be eradicated!"

"What?", "Ah, we can't escape now…", His two juniors said in surprise and fear but he just…well, he just stood there.

"Hey, one eye! we don't stand a chance with this many. We have to run!"

"A-agreed!"

"Huh? But what about this guy!?" Ryuji said pointing at the boy in the cell door.

"Well, we will sa-", Akira stopped talking for a moment. "…we have to leave him if we want to survive…"

"The hell!?"

"Frizzy's right! We must save ourselves first."

"Huh, are you two crazy!? Arisato, talk some sense into them!", Ryuji turned towards him. '…Why me?'

"…Uhhh.", 'What should I say?' , Minato looked at the wildcard, to see him looking frantically both at the guards and the boy. '…Well, decide it yourself. This is supposed to be your journey.'

"Hey, Arisato, say somet-", "Look out!", "Huh?" Morgana tackled him as a fire ball whizzed past through him. "Holy Shit!"

"That's because you guys take too long to decide! Tch, I will try to hold them off. You guys try to escape!" Saying that Morgana leaped through the knights that are now turn into '…Is that Pyro jack?'

"Sakamoto-san, we must escape now." Akira said, trying to pick Ryuji up.

"You're saying we are gonna have to leave him too? No way!"

Akira's neutral face turned angry as the boy didn't move his spot. "Don't be a naive idiot! Nothing good gonna come out of helping others." Akira spat those words, even though his face didn't look like he really believed them.

"Shut the f*ck up. A delinquent like you wouldn't understand!" Ryuji shouted batting Akira's arm away. "I will never abandon someone who help me." Ryuji said as he tried to stand up. "Hey, Monster cat! I'm coming." Saying that he ran towards the battle, without fear or doubt at what's happening in front of him in the battle between Personas and shadows.

Akira both looked like he wanted to run with him but also wanted to stop him at the same time. His face looked conflicted as he watched the boy ran towards to help someone he didn't know a minute before.

"S-senpai! W-we must escape now." Then he turned towards him. "W-we must get out of here."

Minato didn't say anything, just looking at him. "…Is that really what you want?"

"Um?"

"…You know both of them gonna get killed."

Akira looked at the ground as beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead. "I know…I know but…if we help them, we are also gonna get killed!"

"…Look at me." Minato said walking towards him.

"Um!"

"Even though they tried to help you, you're not gonna help them back?" Minato said looking him in the eyes.

"But…" Then Akira shouted back. "You don't know what did I do! You don't know what happens when I try to help them."

"True, I don't." Minato replied back in his monotone voice. "…And they don't either." Minato said looking towards the blonde boy running through fires and lightnings, carrying a monster cat. "…But now their lives are on the line. They are not gonna even care even if you killed your entire family before."

"Ummm"

"And Right now they need you. They don't need your past. They don't need your future." Minato turned back towards him. "Right now…they need someone who can help them…"

"I-I-"

"*Sigh* , Okay, I will tell you this one time…" Akira looked up towards him.

….

"Stop hiding, Trickster…"

"What?"

"Stop hiding…and Now show Me Your True Self!"

"Huh!?"

x-x

As soon as Minato said that, he felt a sharp pain on his head.

'Gah, My head!'

**_Well, Well, looks like our Messiah has issued a decree._ **

"Ahhhh, Gah!" Akira clutched his head in pain.

**_Now I can't really refuse a divine intervention like this, right?_ **

'What…who?', "Ahhh!" Akira fell towards the floor in pain.

**_So, what now, Trickster? Still gonna hide behind that mask._ **

"Huh!?" Akira felt something attached to his face. 'What…what's happening!?'

**_Was your choice back then a mistake?_ **

"N-no, Gah…No!"

**_Was that something you regret?_ **

"hnngh. no, I…Uhhh…don't." Akira said through gritted teeth.

**_Yes…Listen to that cry in your soul…_ **

"…hmmm, hmmm, Hnnghhhh…" Akira touched the mask on his face.

**_Listen to that wailing in your spirit!_ **

"Gahhhh…Ahhhh!" Akira started to pull on the mask.

**_Yes, Stop hiding…and Stop Pretending Behind that Mask!_ **

"Ahhhhh!" The mask started came off like it was peeled from his skin.

**_Rip that mask off and Show Them Your True Self!_ **

"AHHHHHHH!" The mask came off from his face in bloody mess. His face was full of blood as they trickled down across his yellow shining eye…Before they all burned in a blue hair.

"What the?", "What's happening?" Morgana and Ryuji and all that weird monsters turned towards him in surprise.

"Is that…a persona?"

Then blue fire on his face covered his whole body as a maniacal laugh echoed throughout the face.

_**Yes** **…** **Embrace that power** **…Embrace that power though you may be chained to hell itself!** _

…

"…Now that's new."

The place the fire burned on Akira's clothes started to transform…before his school uniform was completely gone and he was in jet back suit wearing an equally black coat.

….

"What in the f*ck?"

A fire flickered on his hand before revealing a dagger.

Akira pointed it at towards the groups of monster. "…Come, Arsene!" *BOM* A heavy wind blew out the place as a large being cladded in red with big feathery wings appeared.

Minato watched them with his expressionless face…as Akira watched the groups of shadows who now started to recoil in fear, with the devilish smile on his face as he uttered those words.

….

"Ravage them…"

-x-x-


	13. The Fool's Strength

"For real?"

"So, he's a persona user."

"The hell is that!?" Ryuji said to the monster cat beside him. "What the hell is that thing behind him!?" Ryuji said pointing up the black haired boy in weird clothes killing the monsters left and right with a smug grin on his face.

"Burn! Eiha!" As the boy shouted that, darkness with red hue appeared at the monster's feet, completely engulfing them.

"Hahahaha, Die!" Akira jumped from one after another, with slash after slash, making all the monsters disappeared in black ichor.

"Why the hell did his personality turn one eighty?" Ryuji said with a raised eyebrow as the boy who can't said full sentence before was shouting every insults with an arrogant grin. *Snap!* , "Huh!?" Ryuji turned to the voice to see the pale face of Reaper beside him. "WaCahhhhhhhh-"

"…Why are you shouting?"

"-hhhhh, Oh.", 'It was just that weird guy.', "Don't scare me like that!"

"What?" Minato Arisato said with a raised eyebrow. "Never mind. Morgana is safe, but it's dangerous for you to be this close."

"Wha?"

"One eye's right. It's dangerous for normal people to be near a persona fight. And That Include You Too, One eye!" Saying that the mon-Uh, Morgana skittered over to help Akira.

"You hear the ma-Uh." Minato rolled his eyes. "You hear the cat. Let's go."

"I'm not a cat!" Some voice shouted form battlefield.

"Come on." As Minato said that, a ball of fire whizzed towards him.

"Dude, Look out!" Ryuji said, quickly standing up and running towards him but to the opposite of his worries, the blue haired boy just craned his head a little and let the fireball passed with no visible emotion.

"Huh?"

"You will have all time to stare at my face later." Minato said pulling him by the shoulders.

"Hey, why the hell are you so calm?"

"PTSD"

"Pee What?"

x-x

'Damn, I've never felt this good in my whole life.', *Sching* Akira cut the pumpkin head in front of him, making it vanished with a cry.

"Arsene!" Akira shouted and the persona behind him flew towards the other monsters, kicking them towards the wall. 'Persona…cool.' Akira jumped back and the persona behind flapped its wings, making another wave of darkness consumed the monsters.

"Woi, Frizzy hair!"

"Huh?" Akira turned around to see Morgana running up to him.

"If you keep fighting like that you're gonna run out of steam before long." Morgana stopped beside him. "Mwehehe, Now, observe how a true persona user fight." Morgana said with a grin as smug as him. "Zorro!" A big black being whom he saw before appeared behind the cat.

"Oh, right. You can also use this." Akira remembered the time him and Minato save them.

"Hmhm, Of course I can."

"What!? There's two of them." The monsters backed down in fear. "Retreat! Retreat!"

"As If I would let you." Morgana shouted as a heavy wind blew to towards the monsters.

"Ahhhh"

"Nice. We hit the shadow's weakness!"

"Shadow's weakness?"

"Yep. Each shadows have their own weakness. And we can win easily if we exploit them."

"I see." Akira said adopting a thinking pose.

"But, Now's not the time for a lecture." Morgana said grinning. "Now it's time for an all out attack!"

"All out attack? How do I do that?"

"Just do what I do." Morgana said jumping up into the air. "WaNyaaaa!" With a loud meow, Morgana viciously scratched the monsters in front of him.

"Uh." Akira stood there for a moment. Then he looked back at his hands. "Ahh, Morgana-san, I don't know how to meow or scratch like that."

"What!?"

"I don't have claws."

"Whatever! Just Attack!"

"Okay. I get it. I get it." Akira said running towards the shadow. "Hahhhh!" Then he jumped with his dagger in hand.

'I don't get it.'

x-x

"Wew."

"Huhhh, I think that's the last of them." Morgana said from beside him. "Hey, You two, you can come out now." Morgana called out to the back.

Akira looked at his back to see Ryuji walking up to them from the wall with Minato close behind him.

"Uhhhh, So," Ryuji walked over to them awkwardly not meeting his eyes. "Uhh, what the hell was that?" Ryuji said holding his head. "Why did your clothes change?"

"Hm?" Akira looked over himself. "Oh, I didn't notice."

"You didn't notice!?" Ryuji shouted in shock. *Bwack* "Ahh!"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to shout?" Minato said in an annoyed voice.

"I Get It! You've already said it a thousand times. No need to hit me." Ryuji said back.

"*Sigh*"

"Sakamoto-san, Arisato-senpai, we must get out before more of those get here." Akira said looking at his surroundings.

"That's true, come on, Follow me!" Morgana said opening a door.

"Oh, we're gonna have to run again?" Ryuji whined dejectedly.

"You don't have to worry, Sakamoto-san, Me and Morgana-san can protect you from those shadows."

"Uh, Ahhh, O-okay, Uhhh, Th-thanks." Ryuji said back awkwardly in response.

"Kurusu, Did you say Shadows?" Minato asked from the back before Akira could ask Ryuji 'What's wrong?'.

"Huh, Uh. Yeah, I did."

"Shadows?" Minato weirdly looked at both him and the battlefield from before. Although there's nothing there because unlike normal…things, shadows didn't leave a trace when they got killed. "Those don't look like shadows." Minato said back.

"Huh?", 'That's true, they don't look like shadows.', ''Uh, Well, that's what Morgana-san call them." Akira said pointing back to the cat running beside him.

"Yes, they are called shadows. They are the negative aspects of human conscious taken form. Most of them can't think for themselves. That's why they follow other strong shadows, and in this case, the ruler of this palace."

"Palace? Are you blind!? We are in a castle!" Akira looked back to see the blonde haired boy asking with a puzzled face and 'Uhhh', the blue haired boy staring at Morgana with a look that could pass up for an intent to kill. 'I wonder why does he look so angry?'

"I know this is a castle, You idiot. This palace only looks like a castle because of it's ruler cognition."

"Congain…Uhhh, Congac What?"

"Cognition. Mwehh, how do I explain this to dimwits?"

"Hey!"

"Uhh, this castle, it doesn't look like this in your outside world, right?" Morgana asked looking back in the middle of running.

"Outside?"

"Yeah," Akira said interrupting. "This was supposed to be my school. And I'm sure it doesn't look like this."

"So, it's a school in your world." Morgana said out loud. " Basically, We see this school as a castle, because we are in the heart of someone and that someone see your school as a castle. That's why we also see this school as a castle."

"So, you're saying all of this is an imitation."

"Not exactly, this is real for the man, imitation for us. But, you sure are fast." Morgana said with a bright smile, which made Akira smiled in return, which made the blondie behind looked at them weirdly.

"Huh?" Ryuji turned around to his only ally. "Dude, did you get all of that?"

"…Yeah."

"You too!?" But turned out that ally was also a traitor.

"Admit it, Blondie, you're just dumb.", "What you say, Punk!?"

"*Sigh* , Basically, what's he saying is that Kamoshida sees the school as his castle where he can do whatever he wants, and sees himself as a king of the school."

"Wha?"

"And somehow, his twisted senses become blurred between reality and his imagination and he now thinks he is really the king of the school." Minato said looking at the lavish decoration on the wall. "And we somehow ends up in his heart…Not in a physical way, I guess but that's why we see things his way."

"So, You're saying that's how the bastard think of the school!"

"…."

"Damn it!" Akira stayed in silent as he really didn't know anything.

"Calm down, Blondie." Morgana said opening up another door. "Don't want your voice to attract shadows."

"I get it. You don't need me to tell me too."

"EieYahh!" Morgana climbed up a shelf and opened a vent. "Okay, You guys can escape from here."

"Through a vent?" Akira said with his eyes almost shining. "That's so cool!"

Minato walked over to the vent. "Yeah, Cool if you like dust and…Spiders."

"Yuck, There's spiders there?"

"Adversity is to be expected." Akira said climbing up the shelf and entering the vent. "Wow, it's so coo *Cough, Cough* , Ahhh, *Cough* In here."

"Okay, I will count on you to clear the way." Ryuji said as he also entered the vent. "Just a reminder, Don't stop suddenly, okay."

"What are you doing, One eye, Not gonna follow them?" Morgana said as he jumped down from the shelf.

"…I will. What about you though?"

"I still have unfinished business to do here."

"You sure?" Minato climbed the shelf elegantly. "You might get caught again."

"Huh! Don't worry. That happened only because I was caught off guard."

"I suppose." Minato said looking inside the vent to see Akira and Ryuji are trying to move with a little bit of difficulty. "For someone that I threatened to come along, You sure are helpful.…I suppose a little gratitude is in order."

"No need to thank me. I jus-…" Morgana suddenly got silent.

"…What's wrong?"

"Uhhhh, Nothing, I'm just trying to think of why I helped you." Morgana made various noises as he thought to himself. "I guess I just thought it might be a good idea to help you out."

"I see." Minato said as he went into the vent. "But think harder, that's not good enough of a reason.", "I thought you said you were going to thank me!"

x-x

**?**

In a dark dreary room with only a dim light to accompany them, Sae sat directly in front of the supposed leader phantom thieves with a exasperated face.

"And then-"

"Now Hold on! Hold Onnn a Minute." Sae stopped Akira from talking. "Yo-you're going to continue?"

"Uhhh" Akira looked at her weirdly before continuing, "Shouldn't I?"

Sae stared at the boy in disbelief. ", 'Shouldn't I?', You expect me to believe that bullshit!?" Sae said slamming the desk.

"Language. You know he doesn't like cursing."

"I don't care whether he like or not!"

Akira stared at her with his half lidded eyes.

….

"Okay. I care." And she caved in fast. "But, the point is there's no castle in Aoyama Itchome."

"Weren't you listenin-", "Buh buh, buh!" Sae stopped him from continuing. "I'm not done yet." Sae continued pointing at the photo on the table. "It's true that Kamoshida is a scum, a man worth a death sentence, indulging his own desires, assaulting female students, abusing his own team and sure, blackmailing. But I will not believe that he's walking around wearing a glitzy robe in his underwear!"

"No, Like I sai-", "And I Will Not, For God's Sake, Believe that There's a talking CAT!"

"Uhhhhh" Akira stared at her with a tired face. "No, he's not a cat."

"Why are You Defending Him? It? Uh, Him? I Don't Know Anymore!" Sae shouted, clutching her head. "Huh!?" Sae suddenly looked back up. "Wait, why is Minato-kun with you?"

"Uhhhh" Akira stammered to respond.

"Was he…Is he a phantom thief?"

"Umm…"

….

'This interrogation is going well.'

x-x

**Present**

"*Wheeze, Wheeze*"

"Your breathing is annoyi-"

"Well, I don't give a damn." His two companions said as they got out from that castle.

"Ahahaha.", _"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."_ ,"Huh?" A mechanical voice came form his phone and he took it out from his pants pocket.

'It's the weird eyeball thing. I wonder what does tha-'

"Kurusu.", "Huh?" Akira turned around to see his fellow transfer student looking at him like he just grew a second head.

"What…what is that?" Minato said with wide eyes.

"I Uh, I don't know. It just appeared on my phone suddenly." Akira answered back honestly. 'There's really no reason to lie.'

"It said we returned to the real world." Ryuji said as he also looked at his phone. "Does that mean it's that thing fault that we ended up there?"

"I-I mean, I don't, I Uh."

"Why are you back to stammering again?" Ryuji said back as he looked at him. "You were be-Woahh." Before he can finish Minato shoved him to the side.

"Kurusu, did you encounter anything strange on your way here?"

"Uhhhh, be-beside ending up in a castle? I-I uh, I don't think so."

Minato thought to himself again. "What about yesterday? Or the day before that?"

"Uhhhhhhhh…"

"Dude, what's wrong? You're awfully ac-", "What are the students doing here?", "Ah, Crap!" Ryuji looked like he almost wetted himself as two police officers walked towards them.

'Oh, wait, that's crap for me too!'

"Shujin uniform? Hm, cutting classes are we?" One of the policemen said looking over at the three of them.

"Nnnnn, No! We are not cutting classes, We are just trying to get to our school, we just end up in some weird freaky castle!"

"Huh!", "Huh?", "Huh…"

"I-It's true. It was a big castle. With guards and monsters!"

"….", "….", "…."

The policeman looked between the two of them. "Are you kids on drugs?"

"No, we're not!", "No, we're not!"

"Okay, You guys are coming to the station with me."

"Please, a moment." Minato said walking towards them. "Uh, I'm a third year." Minato said as he pointed at the pin on his uniform. "These two are my…Kouhais, I suppose. Ah, well, he's a transfer student and he's new in town, so he's lost." Minato said without breaking a beat and for some reason, the two officers listened to him patiently. "That's why me and this guy are here to get him,…Take him to school."

"Okaayyy." One of the officers said. "Then what this all about a castle?"

'Ack!'

"…I'm not sure, but I don't think we need to come to station. I still have classes. You can just check our bags." Minato said as politely as possible although his face doesn't even change from his normal impassive face.

The two officers stared at them, unflinching for a moment. "*Sigh* , I guess. Hey, Blondie, show us your bags."

"Yes, Sir!"

'It Works!'

"…Thank you."

"Wow.", "Mannn." And thus, it came to a close, with Akira looking at his senpai with a newfound respect.

…And someone, whom they didn't notice, looking at their senpai with enough malice to burn a hole.

x-x

"You are so cool, Senpai." Akira said as they walked to the school.

"Yeah, that was so smooth. It looks like you were doing that all the time."

Minato stopped walking. "Sakamoto, come here for a moment."

"Huh." Ryuji moved closer to Minato. "What'- *Bwack* , Ahhh! the hell, Man!"

"I don't know what's wrong with you, but I know there's something wrong. And that's how you fix an broken TV…By hitting them."

"Hitting them? What are you? An old man?"

"…Maybe."

"You don't deny it?!"

"Hey, What are you three doing outside the school?"

'Owww, Not again.' Akira turned around expecting another policemen but instead he came face to face with the man they just escaped with their lives. 'Uck!'

"Kamoshida!"

"Sakamoto, Show some Respect. That's Kamoshida-'sensei' to you." A middle aged man, whom he thought was another teacher, said.

"It's Okay. I'm used to it." Kamoshida said with a sincere smile.

"Hmmm, You're too soft on him, Kamoshida-sensei.", 'Why's he acting like he doesn't know us?', "Anyway, Answer me, where the hell were three of you instead of being in class?"

"Uhhhh, A castle?" Ryuji stopped functioning for a moment. "Oh." Then he craned his head, trying to ignore the stare Minato's giving him.

"So, You're not going to answer honestly."

Akira opened his mouth but then, he closed it fast. 'I want to say it's an honest answer but I don't want to be the victim to that stare.'

"Hm? Aren't you Arisato? What are you doing with the second years?"

Minato didn't talk for a moment. As the man, Kamoshida, stared at him weirdly, while the other teacher waited patiently with a knowing face.

"…I was…out." Then he stopped talking.

….

And he didn't continue.

"And?" Kamoshida asked with an raised eyebrow.

"…And…Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." Minato said back with straight face.

"What?" Kamoshida looked completely surprised. "What are you o-"

"*Sigh* , Arisato, I expected you to be better than this. Just because you can answer all the questions in class doesn't mean you can do whatever you want." The teacher said in an reprimanding tone that's seem to be working wonders on Minato with the face he's making. '*Pfftt* , sarcasm.'

"Um, Ushimaru-sensei?"

"Hm?"

"This is the transfer student." Minato said pointing to him. 'What?'

Both the teacher turned to him. 'Abort! Abort!', "Oh." The teacher looked at him with an indiscernible face. "Why are you this lat-Actually, Never mind. I will ta-take you to class." The teacher said motioning him to come up.

"Uhh, Th-thank you very much, Sir!"

"Sakamoto, you too."

"Y-yes, sir." Ryuji said finally looking away from Kamoshida. "I'm coming."

With that two of them followed the teacher with Minato walking behind them.

"Wait." Kamoshida suddenly grabbed Minato's shoulders and stopped him. 'I knew it! He was waiting for a good time to attack us.' Akira looked up his front, 'Sakamoto-san and that teacher didn't seem to notice. What should I do!? Should I shout!? I feel like I need to shout! Even if I don't need to shout, I want to shout!'

"Where is your bag?", 'Huh?' Akira craned his head a little to hear better.

"It's in the class." Minato said without breaking a beat.

"Hm, Cutting class. Just a week and you are starting to show your true colors, huh, 'transfer-student'." Kamoshida said in a mocking voice.

Minato didn't say anything back and tried to move but Kamoshida tightened his grip. "I'm watching you, transfer student. One wrong move and You're getting expelled." Minato didn't show visibly no emotions. "Do you understand?"

'It's a little scary to watch.'

"I'm asking you a question. Do. You. Understand?"

Minato moved his hand over the man's hand, and he slowly removed it. He made it look really easy, but you could see the veins popping on the man's head trying to counter it.

"…Not really. No." Minato said looking at the man in the eyes.

"Um!?", 'Huh?' Akira tried to turn around to get a better look. 'Is he, Uhh, is he shaking?'

"Hey, what are you doing? I don't have all day. I still have my own class to teach." The teacher from the front called him out.

"Ahh, ahh, I apologize! I'm coming." Akira tried to run ignoring the stare the man's giving.

x-x

"Alright. Settle down." The teacher in an yellow suit said walking over to the middle. "Okay, I will introduce you to the new transfer student."

"What!?", "Is he the one th-", "Why in the fourth period?"

"I said settle down." The teacher said in a lazy tone. "Alright, you can come in."

"*Slides* , Excuse me." Akira said opening the door. Then he walked over to the teacher. "I'm Akira Kurusu. Nice to meet you." Akira said, bowing.

…*Awkward Silence*

"He looks like a dork.", 'Good to know that the glasses work but a little hurt to hear that.'

"Are you sure he's the one?", 'Huh?', "He seems quiet, but when he snaps…, 'Hm? HM!?', "I heard he's on probation." Akira jerked his head upwards suddenly.

…*Awkward Silence*

"Uhhh-", The teacher patted him in the back. "I will take it from here, You can sit in the free chair over there."

"Uhh, th-Thanks." Akira slowly walked over to the chair.

"No way, He's sitting near me. I'm scared."

'Ouch.'

"Alright, Enough of this. Kurusu-san is a little late because he's not feeling well. Everyone, try to be friend with him, Okay?"

No one answered back. 'Double Ouch.'

"Lies." Akira turned towards the voice. 'It was the girl from before'. "You were at the station."

'Uh, what's her name again? Uhhh.', "Nice to meet you again, Takamaki-san." Akira said as he took the seat. 'Good that I remember her name.'

"What? They know each other?", "Does that mean Takamakai-san is cheating Kamoshida-sensei?", "Yeah, well, it's Takamaki-san we're talking about."

Akira sat down on his chair.

'Bad that I remember her name.'

x-x

Minato stood awkwardly in front of the door.

…*Sigh* , *Sliddddddddees* Minato slowly opened the door. 'I hope this works.' As the door was fully opened, the eyes of his entire class plus the teacher turned to him.

'It didn't work.' Minato tried to ignore the stares and walked towards his seat.

"Arisato-san, where were you?", 'Why didn't it work!?' Minato slowly turned towards his math teacher.

"Uh."

"It's already fourth period. I didn't see you the whole day." His math teacher, Usami said back.

"Uh."

"Where were you?"

"I was…Uh, in the toilet." His teacher and the students' stares didn't let up. Especially one of them.

"You were in the toilet?" His teacher asked back.

"…." Minato nodded back.

"For the whole four periods?"

'….', "…Maybe." *Gasp* His teacher looked shocked. As well as all the students. Except for one.

"Are you, you, at this age?" His teacher said looking him up and down. "Ar-arisato-san, are you sure? You don't have to worry about the school. You can go home." His teacher said worriedly. 'Why?'

"No, I'm fine."

"Ye-yeah, Don't push yourself too hard, okay." Now it's his turn to look at his teacher weirdly.

"What?"

"Health is the most important thing. Y-you can study whenever you want." Minato stared at his teacher for a moment. Then he turned around to his classmates to see equally sympathetic stares. Except for one, who's glaring daggers at him.

'That's weird.', "Thanks for the advice." Minato walked over to his desk.

His seat neighbor was looking at him with her mouth hanging open. Minato stared at her for a moment before sitting down.

….

'Did I say something wrong?'

x-x

**After some** **time**

…*Ding Dong*

Akira sat, fixated on the blackboard. 'Woah, after 16 years, I finally realized I really suck at studying.' His only silver lining in school. 'Narukami-san said scoring first in exams can improve my charm which in turn make others like me. But How?'

Akira quietly put back his things. 'How the hell Do I get to score first when I don't even know what the hell Femme Fatale is!' Akira stood up from the desk making as little noise as possible. 'How the hell would I know it's Carmen!? And Why did I say Elizabeth!? Who the hell is Elizabeth!?' *Slides*

Akira quietly walked out of the class, politely closing back the door.

'*Sigh* , in the end it doesn't matter. That would only works if people don't know he's a criminal.' He still didn't know how his record got leak though. And of course, as expected, nobody even bother talking to him. Worst of all they were even scared to make eye contact with him.

Until now that is.

"Hey." A blonde boy said walking near him.

"Sakamoto-san?"

"You free?" Ryuji asked, almost whispering.

"I was just planning to go to cafeteria. Um, so I guess, I'm free."

"Great." Ryuji said with a grin. "After you grab something, can you come by to the roof?"

"Roof?"

"Yep, it's easy to get to. You just have to keep going up."

"I see. Should I come now?" Akira asked back.

"No. Do your own thing for now. I still have to go and ask Arisato too."

"Senpai?"

"It's, uhh, it's about you know what. I still can't wrap my mind around that." *Slides* Ryuji then noticed Kawakami-sensei came out of the door. "Anyway, that's all. I'll be waiting." Patting him in the back, Ryuji walked out ignoring the stare his teacher's giving him.

"*Sigh* , Kurusu-san, I don't think I need to remind you that you're already walking on thin ice." His teacher said walking over to him.

"Huh?"

"The police caught you cutting class on your first day. What's your excuse to that?" His teacher said in an exasperated face.

"Uh, well."

"And with Sakamoto, you even roped Arisato-san to your little escapades."

"Uhhhh." Akira looked around for help. There's none.

"*Sighhhh* , You should go straight home without any detours. Sakura-san sounded pretty angry."

'Oh No! Crap!'

" Don't do anything stupid, okay? You whole life's on the line here."

"My Si-sincere apologies, Ma'am."

"*Sigh* , And Don't get involved with Sakamoto."

"Huh?" Akira asked back. "What's wrong with Sakamoto-san?"

"Uhh, How do I say this?" Kawakami said scratching her head. "He's a bit of a trouble maker. And he doesn't listen to any of the teachers. He still not dyeing his hair back either.", 'That's not his natural hair?', "You will be here only for a year and involving with him is like asking for trouble. Try to stay away from problems okay?"

"Y-yes."

"And…" She looked at him awkwardly. "The thing about your record, it's not me who said that to them. I don't know how it got leak either."

"I-I see."

"*Sigh* , try not to let that get to you, okay?" His teacher said patting him on the shoulder with a smile. 'Woah, She's surprisingly nice.'

"Yes, Kawakami-sen-", "*Sighhhhhh* ", "Huh?"

Kawakami let out a long sigh, clutching her head. "*Sighh* , I really can't catch a break." , 'Huhhhhhh?' , "Go straight home, you hear me."

"Y-yes." His teacher walked past him with slump shoulders.

"Ahhhh, I hate my life…And my job." Akira didn't know what to say back. 'Yes, I don't know what to say back.'

Akira stood in front of the door for a moment. 'Should I go to the roof?'

x-x

'Why did I feel like I'm forgetting something?' Minato sat on his chair with his hand on his head. 'Let's see, I walk to school, I…'

…Minato glanced at his left. The girl was looking at him with wide little doe eyes. "Huh!" She saw him looking at her. "Ahhhh, Ahhh." The girl frantically took out a book and pretended to read it.

'Gardening 101, What's that?'

….

'Meh…' Minato turned back around.

…*Peek-* "Anything you like to say, Okumura-san?" Minato suddenly asked, turning back at the girl.

"Uhhhh." The girl looked at him, lowering her book a little. "Ar-Umm, are you sitting all right?"

"…Huh?", 'What kind of question is that?'

"I-I mean, Ar-are you okay?"

"…I'm sorry, I don' -AH!", "Huh? What? What? Where does it hurt!?" Minato said out loud in the middle of sentence as the girl worriedly asked him. 'Caroline! That's what I'm forgetting about. Caroline!'

"Arisato-san, What's wrong?" Haru asked him worriedly.

"Nothing. I just remembered something." Minato said standing up from his chair. "I need to go home early today, I have so-"

"Arisato-san, A word."

….

'Damn, I miss my exit.' Minato sat back down on his chair. And turned towards to the voice to see Makoto Niijima looking at him with some kind of smug grin.

"Yes?"

"I just got back from the faculty room.", '…Uh Oh.', "And I had an interesting conversation with Mr. Ushimaru.", 'Uh Oh.'

"He said that he found you outside the school."

"Huh? Outside the school?" Haru said in shock.

"Is that true, Arisato-san?" Makoto asked back with a smug face.

"…Yes."

"Interesting." Makoto said in a mocking tone. "Huh, I definitely remember you saying to Ms. Usami that you were in the toilet?"

"…Yes." Minato said looking at the wall that suddenly became so interesting.

"So I take it that was a lie?"

"…Yes."

"So, you confess that you were outside the school."

"*Gulp* …Yes."

"Is 'Yes' the only thing you can say in your defense?" Makoto said looking down on him.

'Sadly', "…Yes."

….

"You are coming with me to the faculty office."

"*Sighhh* Yesss." Minato said, dejectedly standing up from his chair.

"So Arisato-san, you don't have hemorrhoids!?"

"Huh!?" Minato snapped his head at Haru's direction so fast that the blur hasn't vanish yet. "What!?"

"*Sigh* , Okumura-san, you can't be that naive. That was clearly a lie." Makoto said like an older sister scolding her younger sibling. "Look at that face." Makoto suddenly pointed her finger at his face. "Please, personal space."

"Does that face look like he has hemorrhoids?"

"Huh?" At Makoto's point, Haru turned to look at his face. 'Wait a minute.', "Uh, Niijima-san?"

"Hm, Yes?"

"Uh, hemorrhoids are, forgive my wordings, what happened on the 'butt' right?" Minato said and to his surprise, Makoto didn't even look a bit uncomfortable. "So, Uh, what does that have to do do with my face?"

"*Blink* , *Blink* ,…Excuse me?"

"Y-yes! Niijima-san, What does that have to do with his face?" Haru said nodding as Makoto looked at her like she just betrayed and back stabbed her in every way possible. Then she turned back to him. Then to Haru. Then back to him. That continued for some time before she suddenly said.

"Th-that doesn't matter. What matter is he lied!" Makoto said pointing at him again, "Persona spa-", "He's the bad guy here."

"Bad g-", "Buh, buh, buh. No more talking. You're coming with me. That's final." Makoto said pulling him from his collar.

"Ah, wait. I can wal-", *Slides!* , *Bang!*

Haru looked at the door, still not sure what happened.

"Ah, h-hey?"

"Huh?" Haru turned towards the voice to see a blonde haired boy. 'A second year?', "Yes, Can I help you?"

"Uhh, I didn't know the right time to enter so, uh, Anyway, can you tell Arisato to come to the roof after, uh, Well, when he's back?"

"Uh, sure. But, isn't the roof closed off for students?"

"Uhhh, Nonono, we're are gonna just met up on the entrance. Yep, just the entrance."

"Umm, Okay then. I'll be sure to tell him." Haru said back with a polite smile.

"Thank you." The boy bowed politely before walking out. "The hell was that?"

'Yeah, he's right. The hell was that?'

x-x

**After some time…**

"Excuse meee." Akira said opening the door.

"Yo." Ryuji said, sitting on one of the chairs. "You're really early. I just got here." Ryuji sad drinking from the juice can on his hand.

"Is that so?" Akira said back closing the door behind him. "Where's senpai?"

"Yeah, um." Ryuji said uncomfortably. "He's probably in the dean office. Probably getting chewed out by Miss prez."

"Miss Prez?"

"You're new, so you wouldn't know. Uhhh, well, let's just say it would be lucky if he's still in one piece after that."

"Huh?" Akira didn't talk back for a time. "I'm sorry. What is wrong with this school?"

"Yep, 'What is wrong with this school?', we gonna get to that question later. But, first," Ryuji sat up straight and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Y-yeah?"

"I just heard that Arisato was already at the school when…When that thing happened."

"That thing?"

"I mean, you remembered it, right? The castle?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Yeah. So, he's already at the school and he went out and ended up in that place. But he said to us that he ended up on his walk to school."

'Yeah, he did say that.', "Maybe It's just a white lie. He probably didn't want us to know he was cutting class."

"Yeah, No." Ryuji said shaking his head. "I heard rumors about him, he's some kind of a, uh, serious student. Even the teachers don't believe he was cutting classes."

"So, what do you think?"

Ryuji looked down on the floor. "It's like he knew exactly what's gonna happen to us. I can't be the only one who thinks he's weird."

"Maybe it was just a coincidence." Akira said thinking to himself. "Maybe he must have some reason to get out of the school."

"Maybe." Ryuji said, rubbing his head. "But, that doesn't make him any less suspicious."

"That's true." Akira said honestly. "But, he did save us. If not for him, we would've been killed in that cell."

"Uhhhhh, that's also true." Ryuji said back with a sigh. "Damn it, I don't know what to think anymore."

"Ahahaha."

"Oh, and I owe you an apology too.", "Hm?", Ryuji said getting up from the chair.

"I'm sorry!" Then he suddenly said bowing a little more than necessary.

"Huh?"

"I said, well you know what i said, and then you ended up being the one who has to save me. So, I'm sorry!"

'I-it's okay. Sakamoto-san, it was my fault at that time." Akira said moving towards Ryuji. "Please don't do things like that. You almost nearly give me heart attack."

"How anxious are yo-", *Creak* , Both of them looked at the door to see the blue haired boy with dead eyes. *Creak*

Neither of them say anything for some time. The three of them just looked at each other in silence.

"Ahh, He-hello, senpai."

"D-dude, you alrig-", "Yeah, I am. Don't ask." Minato said walking over towards them. "Oh, by the way, thank you. I heard you were watching silently while I was being burned alive like a heathen."

"Wh-what do you expect me to do? I am also scared of her." Ryuji whined back.

"*Sigh* , Anyway, why did you call me here?" Minato looked at both of them. "If Kurusu is also here, I guess it has to do with our little adventure this morning."

"So you remember it too." Ryuji said with a tired voice, walking back to his chair. "I was kinda hoping it was a dream, but if all three of us remember, I suppose it's not."

"…Well, what about it?" Minato asked leaning on a desk.

"That's it? That's all you have to say on freaky monsters and freaky castle. 'What about it?'."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Uhh, like uhh, 'Oh my god, what the f*ck is that!?', Uhh, something similar to that?" Ryuji said with a face that couldn't believe he's having this conversation.

"Oh, I can't curse."

"Hm?" Akira said with an raised eyebrow. "Curses? Like voodoo?" Ryuji looked up him in surprise.

"I mean curse words. It's against the law for me to curse. And Sakamoto, just a heads up."

"Huh?"

"Don't say such rude things in front of me. Or you will be struck by lightning." Minato said with a straight face.

"For real?"

"Or the ground will break underneath you, I'm not sure." Minato said averting his eyes.

Akira and Ryuji stared at each other.

"Dude, Are you a chuunibyou?" Ryuji said with wide eyes. "Oh my god! You're a chuunibyou! You even covered your right eye!"

"I-it's true. Don't tell me, Arisato-san, your right eye is sealed by a dr-Pweffff, Hahahhaha." Akira couldn't keep a straight face and laugh out loud, to which Ryuji also joined in.

"A Chunni third year, Hahhaha, Suzui gonna love this. Oh, my ribs. Ahahaha."

To all of those, Minato just watched them silently. "Wait, what's a chunnibyou?"

"Aha, ahahaa,…What?", "Huh?"

"Uh, ahem, Okay. Enough joking around." Ryuji collected himself with a cough. "Um, how do I ask you guys this?" Ryuji thought to himself for a moment. "Okay, Transfer-student, you know that rumors about you, are already all over the school?"

"Uh, yeah." Akira said with a sad tone. Minato didn't say anything and just stared at the floor.…Not out of concern but because he's not sure what they're talking.

"I bet it was Kamoshida who leaked all that stuff."

"Huh? Kamoshida?"

"Yeah, I think he's already marked you. The same thing happened to me too." Ryuji said, remembering something.

"But, I didn't do anything. This was the first time I met him."

"Well, dickheads like him doesn't need any reason to screw other people." , "Language.", "Oh, Shut up."

"*Sigh* , So what about him?" Minato asked back.

"That's not the only bad thing about him." Ryuji said leaning on his chair. "Both of you are transfer student so, you guys might not know it but there are many rumors about him. And all of them are not good. One worse than others." Ryuji said clutching his fist.

"What kinds of rumors?" Akira asked as he eats the bread in his hand.

"Uh, there's so many but, the worst ones have to be physical assault, blackmailing and even sexual harassment."

"Huh!? And No one do anything?"

"Well, first of all, they are all rumors but No one bothers to investigate because he's some kind medalist that takes the volleyball team to nationals and He always acts friendly like some kind of ideal teacher."

"But why didn't any of the victims speak up?" Akira asked back.

"You think they didn't try? Heh." Ryuji lets out a soft laugh. "Anyone who defies Kamoshida suddenly got expelled or got into an accident and worst of all no one even try believing them a little." Ryuji said looking up the sky.

"So, what do you want to do?" Minato asked in his monotone voice.

"Arisato, You said that castle is something, something, his heart, right?"

"…Huh?"

"I was thinking if that is his heart, Maybe we can learn something there, maybe we can even get some evidence!"

"Y-you want to go back there?" Akira asked in shaking voice.

"I know I'm asking a lot of you two when this doesn't even matter to you but you saw me, I can't really do anything there. So, I need you two." Ryuji said bowing to them again. "Please, can you guys help me out?"

"Uhh.", 'What should I do?' It's true this is not his problem and he is on probation but…

**Stop hiding, Trickster.**

'Yeah, I'm done running away.', "Sakamoto-san, I will help you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you said it yourself. He's already screwed me over, so this became my problem."

"Hah, Thanks, Man." Ryuji said with a bright smile. "What about you, Arisato?"

"Meh, Why not? I'm mostly free after all."

"Free? We're not going on a camping trip you know."

"So, I think going back there, I think this weird thing is the key." Akira said taking out his phone.

"Wait, you're going now?" Minato asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah, why not? I mean I'm also fr-Uhhh." Akira got dizzy for a second and fell towards the floor but Minato caught him in time.

"Woi, Kurusu!"

"No, you just awake-I mean, you're already tired from the morning. We are not going now." Minato said as he helped him stand up.

"Yeah, I also didn't mean to go right now." Ryuji said smiling apologetically.

"S-sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Let's just meet up tomorrow, Okay?" Ryuji said back.

"Yeah, Uh, yes."

"Eat something when you get home, and try to get some sleep. Don't stay up too late."

"Y-yes, senpai."

"Dude, what are you, his mothe-", "Don't go there, I'm not into Karma.", "What?"

"Ahahaha," Akira let out a soft laugh watching his two new friends. 'Wait, I got friends. HuH! I really got frien-', *Crack*

**I am thou, thou art I... Thou hast acquired a new vow.**

**It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.**

**With the birth of the Fool Persona, Thou have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...**

Suddenly time seemed to stop on his surrounding as a shining card went into him.

Then suddenly time flowed once more.

"Huh? Huh?" Akira suddenly looked around. 'What is that!?' Although he looked around furiously, he failed to notice his senpai looking at him with a kind smile.

"H-hey, did you guy see tha-", "Ah…" Akira stopped talking as Minato suddenly shouted.

"Huh!?", "Dude, what's wrong?"

"I just remembered something."

"Huh?" Akira and Ryuji looked at each other dumbfounded.

"*Chuckle*…I'm in danger."

-x-x-


	14. (Side) A Meeting with Lady Death

"…And the wildcard gained his first social link, so I suppose today was an exceptionally fruitful day."

"I see." Margaret said nodding to herself. "I must confess, Makoto-sama. Today, You exceeded all of our expectations." Margaret said, genuinely impressed.

"Meh."

"I must also agree. It's very incredible that you can able to pinpoint every keywords just from few interactions." Justine also commented in. "And being able to awaken the wild card as well as helping him gain his first social link, I suppose our master's faith in you is not misplaced."

"…There's doubt?"

"Of course not, Makoto-sama." Theodore said with a bright smile. "We have believed in you from the very moment we've felt your presence on the earth. There was not even a flicker of doubt in the whole being of mine that you would not succeed."

"…Nice save."

"But, Makoto-sama, I must ask something." As Justine said Minato turned towards her.

"Hm, I expected this. Well, I may not be able to answer them all but sure, Ask."

"Very well, Ahem." Justine collected herself with a cough as Minato waited.

"Why did you drink that water?" *Bap*

"Ow…"Minato hit his face in annoyance but recoiled in pain. 'Ah! that hurts…*Sigh* knew it was a bad idea to tell them.' Minato turned to look at other siblings to see they are all waiting on his answer.

"*Breattthhhheees*" Minato let out a long breathe. "…First, there was the wildcard, not to tell his clothes changing and his unusual form of summoning." Minato counted with his hand. "Second, there was shadows that takes forms of personas and seems to have their own lines of thoughts." Minato looked up the velvet siblings. "And! There was a literal talking cat that seems to know about metaverse, but that's what you guys take issue with!? My eccentricity!?" Minato raised his voice, holding his chest.

"…Well, yes.", "That is correct.", "Yes, I'm curious too."

"…I can't believe this." Minato watched the three idiots in front of him like he couldn't believe that. '…I've already said that.'

"Well, then let me rephrase her question." Margaret took control of the conversation. "Why would you drink something you're not sure of whether it's safe or not?"

"Uh, do you know who you're talking to?"

"Here it is." Caroline came up and unceremoniously dumped a steaming plate on the table.

"Everything in this world is safe to me. Even Caroline's cooking."

"Hey!"

"Yes, I know how dangerous her cooking is.", "Hey!", "But, you shouldn't take unnecessary risks like that. Sure, you couldn't die but what if you got poisoned or got incapacitated? The wildcard could have been killed without your intervention, not to say unforeseeable consequences to your human body." Margaret said with a worry tone.

"Ahhhh, what are you, my mother?" Which was pay back with a dose of sarcasm.

"Tch, Makoto-sama." Margaret gritted his name as she looked like she could snapped off any moment. "We are in a very important mission here. I advise you to control your childish impulses before something terrible happen."

"Yeah and wasn't that gross?" Justine said making a sour face.

"Relax, there's nothing in this world that can harm me, poison me, or gross me out in any ways." Minato said as he ate a spoonful of Caroline's dish. "Baherh, the hell is this?"

"It's croquettes." Caroline said as it's the most natural thing in the world.

Minato looked the food on his plate. "…It's black."

"Because it's been fried.", "By a volcano?"

"Ahem, let's stay focus on our conversation, shall we?" Margaret shut them down before it could escalate any further.

"Yes, let's." Justine said nodding to her sister. "Makoto-sama, thinking about what you've just said, I feels like all of those doesn't explain anything about your late arrival or bandages on your head."

"Now that you mention it, Justine…" Theodore said looking towards him.

"Yes, that part is weird to me as well." Margaret said carefully observing him. "Makoto-sama, what had happened to your head?"

Minato turned his eyes towards her, as the moonlight revealed the bandages that were tied around his head completely covering one of his eyes and some on his cheeks that seemed to be covering his bruises.

"Oh, that." Minato said back. "That was…Hm…That was *chuckle*…that was a funny story actually. Caroline, you want to take that?"

"Ack!" Caroline stopped in the middle trying to flee the room as all their eyes focus on her. "Wh-whh-w-hat?"

"Do you want to explain how oh, how I got these?" Minato said pointing at his head.

"N-nnnn-no, N-not really."

"Oh Don't be like that, It's a pretty funny story. See,…I'm laughing."

….

You could see your own breaths in the air.

"Come on! I've already made you an apology meal!" Caroline suddenly shouted.

"You called this an apology meal. It's too salty. It's like you're trying to send me a message."

"I wasn't trying to do anything like that! I just couldn't Tell which one's sugar and which one's…Salt."

"That doesn't mean you have to dump the whole bottle. Learn to hold back a little. My kidneys are shutting down as we speak."

"What!? Weren't you the ones saying, just moments ago that nothing can harm you!?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is this your first time seeing a hypocrite?", "Enough! Stop this at once!" Margaret shouted, slamming her hands down on the poor table.

"Caroline, stop your shouting! You're disturbing the neighbors." , "We have no neighb-", "And Makoto-sama, since when did you become so chatty!?"

Minato thought to himself for a second. "Well, the doctor lady made me guzzled down like a whole bottle of painkillers so, I guess…It's still in effect."

"What?" Margaret watched him, about minutes or…actually it's exactly three minutes and 46 seconds. Then she turned to her siblings before turning back to him. "Pa-painkillers? Doctor lady?" Margaret turned towards the another one in the room who might know what's he talking about. "Caroline, what happened?"

"Ummmm…

x-x

The world is a hunting ground. All the people here, all the people he's now seeing. They are all preys. And they don't even know that they are being preyed. And do you know why? Because there's too many hiding place here. 'I had to watch every shadows and every nooks and crannies!' Well, normally he wouldn't even bother with this but there's a fact that the one who's preying on him now is very unpredictable puff and there's also the fact of…

"*Whistle, *Whistle*" Minato turned towards the annoying voice.

"….", "*Whis-whistle, whis-", "Kurusu, why are you following me?", "-tle* , Huh?" His source of headache looked up to him like he's not to blame. "Hm, Senpai?"

"…Why are you following me?"

"A-ah-ahhaha, Nononono, I'm not following you." Akira said with a sheepish smile. "My prob-I mean, my house is here."

'Oh, that's right.', "Oh, is that so?" Minato nodded. "Well, then…" Minato signaled for him to go.

"Huh?" But Akira didn't 'Go' and looked around the place. "You live here, senpai?"

"No…But yeah, I have to walk a little more."

"Oh, then why don't we walk together?"

"No." Akira looked shocked at his curt answer.

"U-u-uh?"

"Because…" Minato thought for a second. "Because…'I got nothing'…because, well, why not? Why don't we walk together, Ha, b-b-bro." Minato said awkwardly.

"B-bro?"

Minato looked up to the sky in annoyance. "…Forget about it. Just walk."

"Y-yeah." , 'Why did he look happy?' *Flap* Minato turned towards the voice in speed of light.

"Whauh!"

"….", 'Oh, it was a bird.'

"Se-senpai, what's wrong?", "Nothing, just walk.", "Huh?", "Walk."

Akira kept walking, while still glancing at him. "You were awfully on edge ever since we get out of school. Wh-what's wrong?"

"Nothing.…But, glad you asked." Minato said walking shoulders to shoulders with him. "We're going to a den of monsters tomorrow. And a little bit of paranoia will keep you alive."

"Huh?"

"Sure, all three of us are gonna go. But, you, Kurusu, you are the only who had to fight."

"H-huh, W-why?"

"Well, you're the only one who can summon monsters that can fight those monsters."

"Ah, It's true." Akira said nodding to himself. 'I seem to be lying a lot.', "But, Senpai, they are called personas, I think they are different from those shadows you called monsters."

….

''…Okay.''

"Yeah, But, still, my persona, Arsene, it's like, uh, when I'm summoned him, it's like I'm free. It's like I've got all the power in the world. It's like I can do I want with no chains holding me back. it's like-" Minato looked around in worry as Akira rattled on about his first experience summoning a persona without a care.

"It's like-", "Okay, I get it." Minato stopped him before he could write a novel. "The point I'm trying to make it, because you are the only one who can fight, you are what we would call our leader."

"Le-leader?"

"Yeah, so you have to be always aware of your surroundings. You have to accept the fact that your world is not normal anymore."

Akira listened attentively kinda like a kid. 'Good, because I'm not sure what point I'm trying to make.', "You have to be always checking. Every little things. Every things that people tend to miss. Even a normal vending machine may prove valuable in your cause someday." Minato said pointing to a vending machine on a obscure place.

"Ah, I didn't notice there was one there."

"Yep, but keep doing that, you may be able to notice things that no humans could ever see."

"I-I see." Akira looked genuinely impressed. "S-so, kinda like a third eye?"

"….", 'What's that?', "…Yeah, kinda like a third eye." Akira looked like he's just found a treasure. "But that's it for today, your home is on this street, right? Go on."

"Huh?" Akira stopped walking and looks around. "H-how did you know?"

'Ah.', "…Because I paid attention to every details.", 'Because Margaret told me.'

"A-ahh-ahh." Akira looked too stunned to talk. 'Just asking, should he really be in high school?'. "We-well then, please excuse me, senpai." But before he went, "Senpai, Thank you for walking me home." Akira said, bowing.

"Yeah." , 'Although I was not walking you home though.'

"Then, see you tomorrow, senpai.", Minato nodded as Akira walked towards his place.

"Try to sleep, okay.", "oh, Ye-yep, senpai!" Akira entered the narrow building with the sign, 'Leblanc Cafe' with big dumb grin on his face.

"*Sigh* , Gre-", *Swwosh!* Minato ducked his head. "Die! Convict!", "-at. *Sigh*"

"Why the heck did you dodge!?" Caroline jumped and attacked his head again, and he dodged it again. "Stop dodging, you weasley eel!"

"Ah, Miss Caroline. Thank you for having the courtesy to not show yourself in your full glory until the wildcard's gone."

"Tch." Caroline stopped attacking as she realized it's fruitless. "What do you have to say for yourself!?"

Minato stared at the angry little girl in front of him. "…Sorry?", "Sorry ain't gonna cut it!", "…I apologize?", "What's the difference!?"

"Okay, calm down." Minato stopped her before she burst her vocal chords. And people were starting to stare at them too…laughing kind smiles. 'Why are you guys laughing? She's literally trying to murder me.', "I have to leave you there, think about it. You guys will, someday, have to help him in velvet room, right?"

"Yeah but that has nothing to do with this!"

"*Sigh* , the thing on your head isn't just for show, Caroline. Now if the wildcard saw you and me together and then see you again with Margaret and the others, I'm gonna have to give him an explanation on why we two know each other now, didn't I?"

"Uh?"

"Yeah, the thing I hate more than not getting enough sleep is…" Minato stopped talking as he thought upon himself. "Uhh, no. There's nothing I hate more than not getting enough sleep. Anyway, now do you understand my actions?"

"Y-Yeah…." Caroline said pouting.

"Great, now let's g-"

"But, that doesn't justifies your actions!", "Ahhrghhhh." Minato rolled his eyes and continued walking.

"You ain't getting away!" Caroline followed him close behind. "Do you know that you just left a young girl alone on a shady alleyway!?"

"Ah, young girl? Aren't you older than me?"

"Then stop treating ME LIKE A CHILD!", "Then stop acting like a child.", "Beergh! Just die!" Caroline continued her assault again.

"Ahhh, what can I do to make you stop?" Minato said dodging flurry of attacks.

"I can not rest easy until you're dead!", "Uh, if you don't know, I'm already dead.", "Uhh?" Caroline stopped attacking and looked at him awkwardly. "Uh, sor-sorry. I didn't mea-Huh? HAH! You're guilt tripping me again!"

"Oh god…"

Minato walked through the whole street dodging bites from a psycho chihuahua. "Okay, how about this, I will take you to the city again."

"Huh? why wound I want to go there!?" Although she said that, she stopped her harassing.

"You can eat those puddings you like so much." Caroline looked up to him with a raised eyebrow.

"I never ate those puddings. It was Justine!", "Oh…Sorry I forgot. What did you eat the-", "Cakes!", "Righhtt." Minato said nodding like he remembered. "Yep, I will buy you cakes as much as you want."

"R-really?" Caroline asked with a twinkle in her wide eyes. "As-as much as I want?"

"Yep, we can go there next holiday. You can take Justine to-", "Nononono!" Caroline suddenly walked to the front of him. "You have to take only me!"

"…Why?"

"'Only! Me! Alone!" Caroline said stomping on the ground.

"Why no-", "Baaah! Just! ME!"

Minato looked at the fuming girl in front of him weirdly.

"…Meh, sure why not? Just you. Just Caroline."

"Yes!" Caroline celebrated for some reason. "Hm? Ahem!…Hmph." Then for some reason she turned around and walked haughtily in front of him.

'…Kids…', "*Sigh*" Sighing to himself, Minato continued walking in his own pace.

"So, what you gonna cook?"

"Huh? You weren't kidding about that!?"

"No." Minato looked at her to see her making weird faces, like trying not to laugh or smile or…'Actually it looks more closer to being constipated.', "What's wron-"

"It can't be helped then!" Caroline suddenly shouted with a dumb grin.

"What?"

"Of course, It can't be helped!", 'Why did she say it twice?', "I suppose I will have to cook for you after all!" Caroline said with a dumb smile on her face.

"Yeah, that's what I'm tel-", "Hah! It can't be helped!", "Okay, enough." Minato walked pass her.

"Ah, wait! Makoto!" Caroline ran after him loudly shouting his name. "You didn't tell me what you want to eat. Huh? Huh?"

"Um" Minato thought for a moment. "Do you know how to make croquettes?"

"What the hell is that?"

"It's…Potato and bread and something. You have to fry the potato with…something, I guess."

"Hm? That sounds easy."

"I guess." With that both of them walked silently with Minato thinking absolutely nothing and Caroline, probably thinking how to poison his stomach.

",'Hey, look at me. I paid attention to every details',", "Oh shut it."

"Hahah, Is it okay for a messiah to be lying this much?"

"It's an occupational hazard. I can't help it. Oh and by the way, Caroline, have you ever seen a talking ca-", "Surprise attack!" *Woosh* Minato dodged the lethal strike to his head by jumping a short distance.

He then looked at the girl with very, very annoyed face. "*Sigh*, Must you?"

"Hehhe." Caroline just looked at him with a dumb smile. "Come on it was just a friendly *Vrommm!*…teasing." Minato completely vanished from her sight. "Huh?" Instead, there's only a car which its front looked like it's been pummeled by a giant.

"Innoue! What happened!?", "Uh-uh, my head. Ahhhh, loo-looks like I h-hit someone." , "What!?"

"Huh?" Caroline stood there petrified for a moment. Then finally. "Hu-huh! Ma-makoto!" Caroline suddenly ran up to him who's been lying on his face on the ground. "Makoto! Are you okay!?"

"Ummm." Minato slowly raised his head. "I'm fine." He is fine. Probably something had hit him but it's not like he could be hurt. "Just a little dizzy." He can't be sure how farther he was blown though.

"Huuuhh, Thank god."

"Innoue, how can you make such an mistake!?", "S-s-sorry, Miss Ochimizu.", "Forget about that, we have to check if the person's okay." A door opening and a young girl's voice can be heard. "Kanami, don't."

'She's probably coming to check me. But no need to worry, I'm not even bruised.' Minato thought feeling his limbs. '…wait, I'm not even bruised?' Minato craned his head a little to check the car.

'Ah, Nuts.' The car looked terrible. It might even came out in a better shape if it was hit by Thor's hammer. And he's not even bruised.

"Makoto, why are you still lying? Come on, stand up, let's go."

'No, the excuse that it just grazed him is not gonna work.' There's a lot of witnesses here, thankfully they are still looking at the car. '…I got no choice.'

"Caroline, go away." Minato whispered to the girl.

"What?"

"Go away, before any one notices us."

"What!?"

"Just go away." Caroline hesitated for a moment but she ran towards the corner.

'*Sigh* , I hate this world.' Minato covered his head with his hands. **_"Universe, Messiah"_** not to let anyone noticed his hair.

"Huh? Makoto, what are you doing!?"

Pause for a minute please.

….

"*Sigh*" Minato let out a sigh. 'Well, this gonna hurts like a-oh wait, I can't say that.'

….

**_"Megidolaon"_** Minato used the almighty spell right on his head.

x-x

"Over there!" Kanami ran towards the lying blue haired student on the ground. "Huh, huh…Mister, are you okay?"

The boy didn't say anything still covering his head. 'Oh my god, is he dead!?' Then to her relief, the boy turned his head on her…Which was soaked entirely with blood dripping down.

….

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"…AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Huh! Kana-, uh, what's wrong?" Her voice attracted every one near her.

"Innoue-san, call an ambulance!"

"What? Wh-Oh my god!", "Hurry up! He's going to die." Kanami shouted shaking the bloody boy. "Please don't lose conscious. Stay awake. Don't close your eyes!", 'I would live longer if you stop shaking me.', "Innoue-san, what are you doing? Hurry up!"

"Y-yeah. I'm calli-", "Innoue, what are you doing?" One of the mature ladies said, whispering to one of the bespectacled men. "Are you kidding? You can't call an ambulance. The media would be all over us!", "B-but-"

"Please, Ms. Ochimizu, he's going to die.", 'Yeah, the six of you should decide fast before I start to see twelve of you…Oh wait, there's only three of them.'

The woman looked over him and the girl before turning to one of the onlookers. "Is there a clinic nearby?"

x-x

'The day's at least interesting.' Takemi thought to herself as she opened the door.

"Doctor, is he gonna live?" The brown haired girl suddenly asked her.

"Kanami, calm down. He didn't lose his conscious all the way here. Of course he's not gonna be dead." The woman with a hint of grey hair said, calming down the first girl.

"Ye-yeah, you're right. We don't have to have him for dinner tonight. Yeah.", 'Huh?'

"You can go home and rest, I will take care of everything here."

"B-but-"

"No Buts. Innoue, take her home. I've already called the station."

"Ah, yes." The man said standing up. "Come on, We can't really do anything here. Let just leave this Miss Ochimizu."

"*Sigh* , I guess. But please call me, Miss Ochimizu." The girl said going to the door.

"Yeah, yeah." As the girl and the man leaves, the woman suddenly turns towards her. "So, he's dead?"

"N-no, he's not dead."

"You don't have to lie to me. I've seen wounds like that before. He surely can't survive that." The woman said without breaking a beat.

"Yeah, You're right to think that." Takemi also said back fast. "Why did you take him here instead of going to a hospital? You do know that this place is surely not made to threat wounds like that." Takemi said, glaring at her.

"I know that. No need to lecture me." But, the woman didn't even flinch. "I only need you to stabilize his condition. I will take him to hospital myself after this."

'Hm, must have done things like this before.', "Well, he's mostly stable now. and I don't think you need to follow him up on the hospital." Takemi said, walking over to the medical shelf. "Nothing critical was hurt. It was mostly surface wound."

"Surface wound? Did you see how much blood he's lost?"

"I know. I was the one who cleaned that." Takemi said as she took the necessary things from the shelf and putting them on a tray before walking back to the door. "If you don't believe me, you can check him yourself."

"He's conscious? After all that pills you gave him?"

"It was sudden and I panicked. What are you gonna do, Sue me? I can sue you back, you know?" Takemi said back opening the door.

"*Sigh* , just lead me to him." Both women opened the door to see the bandaged boy sitting up and trying to wear a shirt. Takemi's eyes turned stone cold.

….

…*Gulp*

"What do you think you are doing, Arisato?"

"…Preparing to go home?" Ochimizu looked between the strange doctor and the stranger patient.

"You're not going anywhere. Lie back down.", "Sorry." Minato conceded defeat fast. "Well…" Takemi motioned the woman to go.

"Uh, Okay. Ahem." Ochimizu walked over the boy. "So, you're okay?"

"Yeah." Minato answered back in his monotone voice. "…Who are you?" Ochimizu looked at the boy before turning back to her.

"Is it because he hit his h-", "No. He really didn't notice you in the first place." Ochimizu looked back at the boy who's looking at her with a tilt of his head. After looking at him weirdly enough, "Ahem, well, my name is Kyoka Ochimizu. My sincere apologies that we have to meet in such an unfortunate circumstance, Minato Arisato."

"Pleasure to meet you, my name is Mina-…How do you know my name?", "Huh? You told us when we get her-", "Get to the point, Miss Ochimizu, I have to threat him before he goes completely retard."

"Uh, Ye-yeah. Ahem." Kyokuo coughed into her hand. "Ah, Mr. Arisato. I know this is asking a lot of you but can you not tell anyone about this incident?", '~Typical~', "We will cover all your expenses here, and even though Takemi-sensei said it's not necessary, if you decided to check on the hospital, we will cover for the expenses there too."

"…."

"And we're doing a concert for Kanamin Kitchen and Risette next month, if you want I will make sure you and your friends get the tickets for free.", "*Pftt*" Kyoko turned towards her.

"Any things you like to comment on, Miss Takemi?"

"Nothing, Just finish up your own PR talk." Takemi said with a slight smile.

"*Sigh* , Anyway can I ask that of you, Mr. Arisato?"

'Hmph, She's trying to buy his silence with concert tickets, Of course he's not gonna-', "Yes.", 'Of course he's gonna accept it.'

"Great." Kyoko said with a content smile. "Here's my card. You can contact me anytime you want." Saying that she walked back to the door. "Well, then, Miss Takemi, I expect you to take care of everything." After that she left, leaving just the doctor and patient in the room.

….

"You realized that you just trade you life for Idol tickets?"

"Hm? Idol? She said Kanamin Kitchen, so I thought she was giving me restaurant coupons."

"Wasn't that worth less than ido-", Takemi stared at the unidentified creature in front of her. "…Yeah, it was restaurant coupons." She didn't want to crush the boy's dream. No matter how idiotic they may be.

"So, can I go home now?"

"Not yet." Takemi said taking out a pen. "I still have to ask you some questions."

"Do we have t-", "Shush.…I will be the one asking the questions. *click* The first question is of course, how the hell are you conscious?"

"*Blink, Blink*…Hm?"

"You got hit in the head pretty bad. Not to mention the amount of blood you've lost. And Based on the diagnosis, your body temperature, blood pressure, glucose, weight, basically Everything is below average." Minato turned away from her eyes. "So, tell me, how are you still conscious?"

"…I don't know. You're the doctor."

"Does that mean I can examine you whatever the way I want?" Minato turned back towards her again.

"Is that a genuine question?"

"…Maybe. Next, So, what did you have for breakfast?"

"Uck…" Minato made a weird noise and looked up at the ceiling. "…Nothing."

"Hm? You didn't have breakfast?", "*Nod*"

"What about lunch?", "…Ahh…*Shake*", "You didn't have lunch either. "…*Nod* Takemi didn't say anything for a moment. "Is that because of money trouble-"

"No, I just forgot to." Takemi looked at the idiotic boy. "But if you must know, I plan to have dinner. I've already told my 'chef'."

"Yeah, yeah. Got it."

"You don't believe me?"

"No, I believe you. I got it." Takemi said with an awkward smile. "And I'm just asking this here but…Uhhh, do you have any history of , um, any kinds of mental… illness?"

Minato looked back at her again.

"No. I mean No…But yeah."

x-x

"Make sure you drink this after you eat tonight." They are now in the front with her behind the counter and him sitting on a chair. "You have to come tomorrow at about this time. But, you live near, so you can come by too if it hurts too much."

"…."

"You probably shouldn't go to school. Be sure to rest and try to get sleep. but make sure not to hit your head.…And try to eat a little more and drink plenty of fluids."

"What would I drink, Gases?"

Takemi looked up from the desk. "Don't get smart with me.", "Sorry." Minato apologized fast and took the bag he was given to.

"Then, excuse me." Minato got up and walked up to the door.

"What are you doing?" Minato stopped and looked back at her.

"…Trying to live?"

"I mean what are you doing now?"

"Still…Trying to live."

Takemi looked at the boy narrowing her eyes. "If you keep this up, all of your efforts trying to live will become useless."

Minato rolled his eyes in response. "You said I could go home."

"Yes, with someone."

"…I live alone."

"Where's those two kids I saw you with the other day?"

"Huh…" Mintao made an exasperated face. "Really? Why can't I go home alone?"

"Because I told you so."

Minato stared at her before sighing. "*Sigh*" Then he walked towards the walls. "*Knock, knock* , Caroline, can you come in?" Saying that he walked back to the middle of the room as Takemi kept watching the door.

…But no one came in.

"Oh, for Pete's sake. *Knock! Knock!* Caroline I'm not joking. Come in."

"…Really?" A girl's voice said and Takemi's eyes widened.

"Yes." The door opened and the girl she saw yesterday came in, still wearing the same strange clothes. The moment she saw her, she suddenly ran up to the blue haired boy.

"You happy?"

"Where's the other one?"

"Are you taking attendance? Just one is enough."

"You think letting you go just with a kid is a good idea?"

"Oh, she's not a kid. She's older than me. Go on, Caroline, tell her." Minato said shoving the girl to the front. "Tell her how much you are older than me."

"Huh?"

"Come on. Tell her."

"Um? Ahh-I-Abbba I mean I, Ahhh…Ummm." 'Caroline' said nervously looking between two of them. "Uhhhhhhh…"

….

"…See?"

"Yeah I see that there's no cure for stupidity." Takemi said sighing. "Fine. I will let it slide this time. Don't blame me for anything."

"Why would I?"

"*Sigh* , Now shoo, shoo. And make sure to come tomorrow. But try to be less weird next time you come."

Minato looked back at her. "…Was that an insult?"

"Yes but mixed with genuine concern." Takemi said with a slight smile.

"….", "Wow, even Margaret couldn't shut you u-", "Shut it." Minato opened the door and walked out.

"Bye. Stay safe. Heh."

x-x

…and we came home." Three of them stared at Caroline with mouths hanged open and simultaneously turned back to Minato.

"Why didn't you heal that yet?" Margaret first asked the question.

"There are many people who saw me and there's the doctor. So, I can't heal it completely because it would look strange. And now, I have to live with this constant headache until it heals itself."

Margaret's mouth didn't close back. "*Bam* , Caroline! Do you know how much trouble you made to Makoto-sama!?"

"It was not my fault! I'm not the one who ran him over! And I'm not the one who use Megidolaon of all things!"

"I had no choice. It's your sister fault." At Minato's words, every one turned to Justine.

"Huh, Me?" Justine said pointing at herself. "But, I was sitting here the whole day."

"No, not you. Elizabeth."

"What does Sister Elizabeth has to d-", "Ohhh." Theodore suddenly got an idea. "Right, she gifted you the Omnipotent Orb."

"Yeah. I can't summon other personas and It came into effect when I use the universe and-"

"You become immune to everything except Almighty."

"Yeah." Margaret said and Minato confirmed it.

….

"Wow, that was a disaster, wasn't it?"

"Are you sure it's okay to go to the palace tomorrow?"

"Yeah, It's just a headache, I had worse." Minato answered back Margaret. "Oh and By the way," Minato said and Margaret looked at him again.

"Yes?"

"Does any one of you know what a chuunibyou is?"

"What, Is that a cookie?"

"Not cookie. 'Chuuni'."

….

"…So a cookie monster?" A very helpful advice came from Miss Caroline.

-x-x-


	15. Time to Set the Sails

"Try to sleep, Okay?"

"Oh", 'Oh…Oh!…Ohhhhhhh-', "Y-yep, Senpai." Akira said waving, with a big dumb grin on his face not noticing the weird look said Senpai was giving him.

…*Jingle Jingle* , Akira opened the door and entered the cafe, making the bells rang.

Akira walked up to his room upstairs with a happy smile on his face.

"Hey, the school called me today.", 'Oh, shit.' Akira turned to the voice of his supposed guardian, who's washing the dish without looking at him. "So, what's your excuse?"

"Umm, I got lost." Akira said not being to able to look at man's face.

"*Sigh* , Trying to give me grief on your first day. Didn't I tell you not to get in any trouble?"

"…." As Akira didn't say anything, the man continued talking.

"You know you're not here on a trip." The man said looking at him. "One mistake and your whole life's over."

"…I know. I'm sorry for troubling you." Akira said looking down.

"*Sigh* , Don't let it happen again next time." Sojiro said as he took the dishes to the shelf.

"…Thank you for warning me." Akira continued walking to his supposed room, climbing the stairs.

'Right, I forgot that I'm still in hell.' Akira looked at the empty space which he has to call home.

'But, now…now, I can help. With this power I can finally help people.' Akira thought to himself, gripping his hand. Even now that creepy laugh from his persona, Arsene is echoing through his head. Through his brain. That may sounds like a bad thing but no. To him, it serves as a reminder that he has power now. He has means now. He has strength now. To him, it serves as a reminder that he can stop hiding now.

"Yes, no more hidi-Bahbahbah…Wait a minute." Akira thought back to that time.

_"Stop hiding, Trickster."_

"Huh?"

x-x

After changing his clothes, Akira walked to sit on his poor excuse of a bed. 'Was it Arsene? No. Now that I think about it, Senpai was the one who said that to me.'

Akira opened his phone and looked at the weird eyeball thing. "Trickster? What's that?" He's been hearing that a lot. First from that weird midget goblin and Arsene and…'Arisato-Senpai'.

"Some kind of code word?" That in itself is not strange, of course. 'But why did Senpai said the same thing as the two most weird things he had ever seen?' And he also got really weird when he saw this thing on his phone and there's also what Ryuji said to him.

"Don't tell me, did Senpai really know what's going to happen?" Akira said out loud in surprise.

….

"Ahahaha, That can't be." Akira laughed out loud. "Hahhaha…hahhh…Maybe." His smile faltered. 'I really don't know what to think about. It's not like I *BAAM!* Huh!?" Akira looked around in puzzle before running downstairs.

"Sa-sakura-san, What happened?!"

"Hmm?" The man seemed fine, albeit now looking at him weirdly. "What?"

"I-I just heard a really loud noise."

"Really? I didn't hear anything." Sojiro said tilting his head.

"I-is that so?" 'Strange', "Wel-well then, Uh, sor-sorry for shouting." Saying that, Akira walked back up. 'Strange. I'm sure that was pretty loud.'

"Hey, wait."

"Huh?"

"Now that you're here, can you help me wash the dishes?" Sojiro asked with a sly smile.

"Huh? Didn't you finish it all moments ago?"

"As you can see, I'm still not finished."

"O-oh, is that so? Ummm, Of course, I can help you!" Akira said walking back down.

"Great. There's an apron here."

"Uh, T-thanks."

"Try not to break anything."

"O-Of course. You have nothing to worry about." Akira said in a serious voice as he wore the apron with the man looking at him with a smile.

'I think?'

x-x

…*Ding Dong*

'Phewww.' Akira sighed as the bell rang. 'Damn it, I can't believe I'm wishing for the teacher to stay.'

"Hey, do you guys hear about that?", 'There we go.' As soon as a teacher leaves, everyone started talking about him behind his back. 'It's so cruel.' They are literally talking behind his back. 'You do know I can hear them all.' Is that how you treat a supposed psychopath? Talk about him where he can hear them?, *Sigh* , 'Well, at least I can leave because it's lunch break.' Akira stood up from his chair.

"Yeah, I heard about that.", "Me, too.", "Wait, I don't know, what happened?"

"Get this, the transfer student have already attacked someone." Akira sat back down.

….

'What?'

"You're kidding!?", 'Yeah, he's kidding! I didn't attack anyone. Look at my arms! Do they look like something that can attack someone!?'

"Yeah, it's true. The guy came to school with bandages on his head.", "It's so scary.", "Oh my god, what if he attacks me suddenly?"

'I should probably go.' Akira stood up again and walked towards the door. *Slides* , 'Man, isn't this suck?' Then his face broke into a smile. 'The good thing is I still have…my acquaintances that can at least pass off as friends.' Akira bragged to himself.

x-x

**After some times…**

'The bad thing is I don't know where to find them.' Akira looked around the place holding a bread. He was hoping he could find either Ryuji or Minato. But he found neither. 'And honestly, both of them are really hard to miss, so it's kinda weird I don't see either of them in the cafeteria.'

He walked here pretty fast, mostly not to hear anything, so it's not possible that they already got their snacks. 'I was hoping to ask Senpai about 'Trickster' thing.' Akira stood there for a minute or two. 'I wonder which class he's in. Should I ask someone?'

"Excuse me?"

'Would they even take me seriously?'

"Um, excuse me? You're holding the door."

"Huh?" Akira turned around as he heard a girl's voice and indeed, a black haired girl with pony tail. "Ummm, Can-can I help?"

"Just moving out of the way would be fine."

"Hm?", 'Hm?', "What?", 'What?'

"You're blocking the entrance." The girl said looking at him weirdly. Akira looked around him and he really was blocking the door.

"Oh, OH! I'm so sorry. I didn't really notice." Akira said stepping aside. "And I apologize. And-And I hope it didn't inconvenience you in anyway. And, uhhhh, I hope my actions didn't offend you somehow. An-and-and I, uhhhh, I-"

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize this much." The girl said laughing a soft laugh. "By the way, are you the transfer student?"

"Ack.", 'Gck.', "Ahhhhh, No." Akira said putting on his best believable smile. "No. Pfft. Why would you think I'm the transfer student? Ahahaha, I'm not the trans-Yeah, I'm the transfer student." But, sadly he best smile couldn't even make himself believe.

"Ahahha," To his surprise the girl just let out a soft laugh. "You don't have to worry about anything. I'm not really scare of you."

"Oh."

"I mean, I don't really believe in rumors. My friend has suffered a lot because of rumors like those." The girl said with a sad smile. "But, then again, the rumors about my other friend are so true that I even think it kinda sells him low." The girl said with a bright smile.

"Oh."

"Then again, I just think he's my friend. Because lately I feel like he's been avoiding me." The girl smile turned sad again.

"Oh."

"Which is ironic, because I was trying to avoid him, but when he starts avoiding me, I feel bad…and sad."

"Oh."

….

'What?' Akira looked at the weird girl, weirdly. 'I'm not sure what to say. Who's in the wrong here?', "Maybe uhhh, Maybe, he's just busy."

"…Maybe.", 'Clearly that didn't work. I should probably help her to take her mind off. After all, she's the third or fourth if I count Kawakami-sensei to talk to me like a genuine human being.'

"Ahhh, Ahem, Miss?" The girl looked up to him. "Um, I'm looking for someone. I'm not sure if you know him or not. He's a third year." Akira started describing Minato's features. "He has this really weird blue hair. It kinda covers his whole face. And he's…Uhh.", Turns out his Senpai's hair was so weird that he failed to take notice of other things. "Uhhhhh."

"Oh, are you talking about Arisato-Senpai?"

"Yeah!" But the girl seemed to know him. 'Well, he's kinda hard to miss, so of course, a lot of people would know him.', "Yes, I'm talking about him. You know him? Do you know his class?"

"Yeah, I know him!" The girl said with a bright smile…which then faltered. "…well, at least, I think I know him."

….

'Crap. It was him!?'

x-x

"If he's not in cafeteria, he's probably here, sleeping." The girl, who's been introduced as Shiho Suzui, said.

"I see." Akira looked around the place. It's not different form his class. Everything's the same. Except for some upperclassman that seemed to be cleaning the hallway.

"Uh, well then…." Akira said walking towards the door. *Slides* , "Suzui-san, are you gonna come?"

"Nooo." Shiho said with a sheepish smile. "I don't want to bother hi-Oh my god, SENPAI!" Shiho dashed past him towards the boy who seemed to be wiping the board with lazy eyes.

"Huh!?", 'Are those bandages?', "Arisato-senpai!" Akira also ran to Minato who had just heard him.

"Hm, Kurus-"

"Senpai! What happened!?" Shiho practically shouted.

"O-oh, Suzui." Minato awkwardly said back.

"You were fine just yesterday. What happened? Did you hit yourself? *Gasp* Did someone hit you on your way home!?" Shiho said in a very worried voice.

"No. Nobody hit me. You don't have to worry. It was just a headache." Minato said not looking at the girl but to him, as if to ask 'What are you doing here?'.

"But it looks worse than a headache."

"That's because it's worse than a headache. Anyway, Kurusu, what are you doing here?" Minato asked him although he haven't said anything.

"Huh? Uhhhh….", 'Wait, what am I doing here?', "Ummm, I want t-to ask yo-you something."

"That couldn't wait until school's over?"

"Ummmmm…"

"Senpai, are you sure you should be coming to school? And are you bleeding?" Shiho asked, fussing around him.

"Okay, Suzui, calm down." Minato said pushing back the girl, who's trying see the back of his head. "I'm fine. I'm not in pain or anything. You are worrying about nothing. I just got into some minor accid-", "You were in an accident!?", "An accident my own, yes. With no one's fault."

"O-okay."

"Yes, So, you can calm down, okay?"

"O-okay." Suzui said awkwardly finally noticing Minato's hand on her shoulder.

….

'Wow, I feel like a third wheel here.', "So, Kurusu?", 'And Why are you talking to the third wheel!?', "What is the thing you want to tal-", "Arisato-san, a word?" As a black haired girl comes along and you could see all the blood draining from Minato's face.

"*Gulp*…Yes?" Although Minato said that, The girl ignored him.

"Good afternoon, Suzui-san.", "Y-you too. S-senpai." Shiho said weirdly. And the new girl turned around to look at Minato before pulling his hand back forcefully from Shiho's shoulder and glaring at him. 'She looks scary.'

"Ahem, and you are the transfer student, I presume?", 'Oh my god, she knows me!'

"Ahh-I-Ahhh."

"I don't know what you come here for but I will try to help after I…After…" The girl turned back to Minato again, who seemed to be trying to play dumb.

"Arisat-", "Yes." But as the girl said that Minato suddenly said like a soldier…then he made a sour face before saying, "I mean, what?"

"Did you finish your job?" Although the girl was shorter than him, that made her no less scary.

"Actually, I've just finished. So, uhh." Minato put down the duster. "That means I can go now. I have something to discuss with Kurusu." Minato said back.

"Oh, and may I ask what could you possibly have to discuss with a transfer student who just came yesterday?"

"Immmm, No, you may not. So, Bye." Minato said walking past both the girl and Suzui who's staring at them with a puzzled face.

"No, wait, Arisato. I didn't give you my permission to go." The girl said back stopping Minato.

"I don't need your permission to go." *Turn*

"You actually do. I am the class monitor." *Turn*

"Yes, but the class is not in session." *Turn*

"True, But, I'm still the student council president." *Turn*

"Nice try. Student council can't ground students. They need a teacher's permission." *Turn*

….

Akira and Shiho watched the two.

'It's like I'm watching a gun fight, and poor Suzui is stuck in the middle.'

….

"So, you want a teacher's permission?" The red eyed girl said with a smug smile as Minato turned to look at her. "Chuuno-sensei?"

"Yeah, you have my blessing." The teacher in a purple suit said without even bothering with looking up or stopped eating pretzels.

"What? What did I do?" Minato asked back fully turning around. 'Okay, now Suzui-san know how it feels like to be a third wheel.' The girl just kept on turning her head watching the two.

"I will tell you exactly what you did." The short girl said glaring at Minato. "We used the last period to clean the classroom and change the vases, dust the lockers, mop the floor and now we're also cleaning the hallway."

"…Why are you stating the obvious?"

"AND while we were doing all of that, you spent the last 30 minutes wiping this 7-feet board!" The girl slammed her hand on the…little dirty board.

….

Shiho and him looked at the culprit who's still trying to play dumb.

"…Again, why are you stating the obvious?"

"You have to stop lazing around, Arisato."

"Okay, you can't just assume that I'm lazing around. I'm hurt." Minato said holding his chest. "And I'm hurt." Minato said pointing his head.

"Assuming that's a valid reason for taking too long, which is not, who knows? You could be faking it."

"The bandages aren't enough?"

"Suzui-san has bandages on both her arms. That doesn't mean she's hurt.", 'Hm?', Akira looked at the girl who seemed to be in shock. 'Oh, right. She has bandages.…Did I just walk with her without really noticing? Wow, I'm really a ditz.'

….

'Why did senpai stop talking?' Akira turned to look at Minato who's looking at Suzui with some kind of indiscernible face.

"…She's really hurt though.", "Um!?" As Minato said in a monotone voice, the girl tried to look away.

"What? No." The red eyed girl said but she looked at Shiho carefully. "Suzui-san, can you show me your arm?"

"Um, no-it's f-" The black haired girl grabbed the arm. "Um!?" She then turned to the girl with wide eyes. "Suzui-san, what happe-…Is that a bruise on your face?"

"N-no. It's uhh…" Suzui moved away while trying to cover her forehead with her hair. "It-it just…Umm, it-i-"

"Suzui-san, are you getting bullied?"

"N-no. I'm not. It's ju-It's just from my practice."

"Practice?" The teacher from before came up to them. "Is Kamoshida-sensei being too strict with you kids?", Akira tensed up as he heard the name. 'Kamoshida!?' Akira looked at Minato who was quiet from the moment this started.

"Being strict is one thing. But he shouldn't train them this hard." The girl said turning to the teacher.

"Niijima-san, that's true but Kamoshida-sensei can get pretty passionate about this. He must really want these kids to win the nationals."

"I understand his feelings but this is taking too far. No medal is worth enough to get hurt over. Don't worry, Suzui-san, I will talk to him about this."

"No, Don't!" Shiho suddenly shouted. All three of them stared at her in surprise except for the one who looked away. "It-It's okay. It's not Kamoshida-sensei's fault. We were just not improving much, so he has no choice but to train us hard."

"But, Suzui-san-"

"No, It's really fine. It's working. We are getting better and better. So, I don't think we need to change anything." Shiho said, interrupting the girl.

….

'…I feel like I don't belong here.'

"An-anyway, thank you for the concern but I'm fine." Shiho said looking down on the floor. "Umm, I was just taking Kurusu-kun here. I don't really have any plans here, so, Umm." Shiho slowly walked towards the door. "Oh, se-senpai, please try to get some rest. Wo-wounds on your head can really make you dizzy."

"…."

Shiho stood there for a moment. "T-then, ex-excuse me." *Slides*

….

The atmosphere was making nearly impossible to breath. Nobody uttered a single word.

….

'Someone, please say something. This is getting too awkward.'

Then someone unlikely broke the first word.

"Kurusu, talk whatever you want after school."

"Huh?"

Minato didn't say anything more and walked towards the door. But he didn't open it, he just stood there holding the handle.

"Arisato…"

"Um, Niijima-san, I will try to help next time but I'm getting hungry so…" *Slides* Just saying that he left,…leaving the three of them.

….

'Wait, why did you guys leave me alone here?' Akira looked back at the two behind him. They weere still staring at the door. 'I hope I can snea-'

"Oh, Kurusu-kun?"

"Yes! Yes! Ma'am! Can I help you!? Ma'am! Please let me help you, Ma'am!"

"Oh…" The teacher was too surprised to say back anything. 'Damn it, I freaked out!' The girl was looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, No. We don't really need help. I just want to tell you to not trouble Kawakami so much."

"Um?-I mean, of course."

"Yeah, I don't really mind but my ears really mind. I am not ready for another of her complaining. I have enough with Usami saying to me about Arisato-san having hemorrhoids."

"Huh? *Blink, Blink* , Senpai has hemo-"

"No. No, he doesn't."

x-x

…*Mutter, Mutter*

"Yo", "Hm?" Akira stopped walking and turned towards the voice. "Sakamoto-san?"

"Yep." Ryuji said back leaning on the wall of the gate. "I was starting to think you guys ditched me."

"N-no. I thought we were gonna meet up in the rooftop so, uhhh, I just got back from there."

"Ohhh, right." Ryuji said back scratching his head. "I didn't specify the meeting place, huh.…So did you see Arisato there?"

"No, he wasn't there."

"Huhhh."

"What do you think? Should we go look for him?"

"No" Ryuji got up from leaning. "He still hasn't left the school, so we should probably just wait here."

"*Sigh* , True." Akira said as he walked to the side of Ryuji.

"Hey, Kurusu, Something weird happened to me today." Ryuji said whispering to him.

"Well, yeah. I see nothing but weird things today."

"What?"

"Not important. What happened?"

"Um?" Ryuji took out his phone. "I just check my phone this morning and this'' Ryuji said showing his phone to him.

"No way." Akira said as he realized what Ryuji's trying to say.

"Yeah, It wasn't there yesterday. And No matter how much I deleted it, it just popped back." The weird eyeball thing that's on his phone was now also on Ryuji's phone.

"It's so creepy." Ryuji said looking at his own phone. "More creepy with what happened yesterday."

"You think it got into your phone after we got out from that castle?"

"Maybe but I didn't check at that time." Ryuji said still looking at his phone. "I hope it doesn't break my phone because I can't afford an-"

"Sakamoto, How the hell did you get this?"

"Waarrrrggghhhh!" Ryuji made a weird noise and jumped to his side. "What The Hell!"

"Why are you always freaking out when you see me?" The culprit, Minato said like he wasn't any to blame.

"H-hello again, Senpai." Minato nodded back as Akira said that.

"Don't Scare Me Like That Again, Arisato! Damn, I think I'm gonna have a heart attack being near this guy." Ryuji said holding his chest.

"Okay, back to the matter at hand, not your imaginary disease," Minato said rolling his eyes. "My question of how that got into your phone."

"I don't know. It's not like I'm watching my phone every time." Ryuji said back. "Oh and Do you also have it on your phone, Arisato?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, if Senpai also have it, we can definitely say that, that castle is the key." Akira said also taking out his phone.

Minato didn't say anything for some time.

….

"Dude…You having a stroke?"

"No, having a stroke is the opposite of being standing still. But, yeah, I also got that app on my phone." Minato said back also taking out his phone and showing the app.

"Ahh, so the castle is really the source." Akira said checking Minato's phone.

"But, Man, you don't have anything on your phone." Ryuji said taking Minato's phone from his hand. "Wow, I didn't think I will ever see a phone without 'talk me',"

"Talk what?"

"Talk me! It's a chatting app." Akira answered, showing the said app on his phone.

"Mann, you have a lot of songs." Ryuji said still checking Minato's phone.

"Sakamoto-san, it's rude to check on other peop-…wait, I never heard of those songs before."

"Me neither. *Scrolls* No, wait, I know this one." Ryuji said thinking back. "If I remember right, It's from my middle school years. And this one too."

"Okay, enough. Give that back." Minato said trying to take his phone back but Ryuji dodged him.

"Dude, these are pretty hardcore rock songs. I didn't take you the type to be into that." Ryuji said with a silly smile.

"I'm not into that. I listened to them because it was necessary." Minato said back collecting himself, giving the stink eye towards the boy who's checking his phone like a child.

"Necessary? I don't get it."

"You will get it when you get older." Minato answered back Akira's question. "Or when you start seeing things or become crazy with hearing voices in your head."

"*Blink, Blink* ", Akira and Ryuji looked at each other. 'Maybe Sakamoto-san's looking at me because it's strange but I was looking because it hit far too close for my comfort.' Akira thought back to his last three days on Tokyo.

….

'Does that mean I'm becoming crazy?'

"Okay, we've wasted enough time." Minato said with a sigh. "Kurusu, do you know how to get back there?"

"Oh, Uhhhhh, Actually, yeah." Akira opened the app. "There's something about Kamoshida under history list. I'm not sure, I think we just touch that and…and, uhhh, again, I'm not sure."

"Oh yeah, I also found that under my history list." Ryuji said nodding. "What about your phone though, I will just chec-"

"No, wait. Don't!" Minato took back his phone from Ryuji's hand faster than they could blink.

"Huh?", "What?"

"Yep, it was on my history list too." Minato said as he pocketed his phone.

Akira and Ryuji looked to each other again. 'Okay, this time we're on the same wavelength.'

"Umm, that's fair." Ryuji said looking at Minato. "Okay, Let's just forget about this for a moment. We are doing this." Ryuji said nodding to himself. "So, do we all touch at the same time?"

"I think only one is needed." Akira said back. "Remember, only I got my phone out when we first met."

"Yeah, that's true."

"I see." Minato said nodding. "So, we should go to somewhere disc-", _"Destination confirmed. Beginning Navigation.",_ "Kurusu, Don't just touch that. Check your suu-"

x-x

"-unding first."

….

"No way, this really worked!" Ryuji shouted in surprise.

"*Sigh* , Kurusu." Minato shakes his head in annoyance. "Don't be so hasty next time. What if others ge-…" Minato stopped talking.

"Huh? What's wrong, senpai?" Akira asked back with a tilt of his head.

"Oh, It's nothing.…Okay, Stay calm. It's just that your clothes ch-", "DUDE! Your Clothes! Look at Your Clothes!", "Damn it, Sakamoto."

"Hm?" Akira looks over himself. "Oh no. What hap- You know what? I look cool." Akira said back with a grin.

"This is no time to be thinking about cool or not."

"What, Sakamoto-san, You jealous?"

"No, I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous? I'm not jealous!"

"Hey, stop making a commotion. You are going to make guards come outta here." The familiar feline voice from yesterday said from behind them.

"What…You!?" Ryuji, again shouting, pointing at Morgana.

"I came out to check out because the shadows start acting up. I should have expected that it would be you three idiots." Morgana said in annoyance.

"Hey…."

"Oh, sorry. Two idiots and a Nutcase!"

"…Okay, You are going to hell." Minato responded back.

"Forget about it. Why did you guys come back here? Didn't I say that this palace is dangerous for you guys?"

"Yeah, I know that. But, Uhhh." Ryuji said scratching his head. "Umm, this time I brought a gun." Ryuji said, casually taking a pistol from his bag.

"AHHH! Sakamoto-san, why did you have a gun?"

"Relax. It's just a toy gun."

"Is that another one of those lase-", "No, No, It's not." Minato shut Morgana fast.

"Wow, this looks almost like a real thing.…Not that I've ever seen a real thing though." Akira said, admiring the gun. "Where did you get it, Saka-" Before Akira could ask, A loud scream echoed throughout the whole place.

"Wh-what is that?" Ryuji said looking around. "It sounds like a man's voice."

"Huh, they must torturing the slaves again."

"Slaves!?" Akira asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, it's a castle after all. Although this is going a little longer than normal." Morgana explained calmly.

"Wait, So who are those slaves!?" Ryuju asked back not so calmly.

"Oh, is that the guy we saw in the cell yesterday?", "Wha!?"

"Umm, I'm not sure. Maybe he might be there. I don't know. There's a lot."

"Why are they getting tortured?" Ryuji asked with angers behind his voice as screams don't stop.

"Most likely on Kamoshida's orders. It's nothing out of the ordinary; it's like that every day here." Morgana said as a matter of fact. "Besides, he's pissed a lot because you guys escaped yesterday."

"Damn it, That son Of A Bitch!" Ryuji said angrily walking towards the large door before Minato stopped him.

"Sakamoto, calm down."

"How can I calm down? You heard what the cat said. And the guy from yesterday is from our school! The others must be too."

"There's a high chance that it's true but remember what we said yesterday, they are not real."

"Damn it, Arisato!" Ryuji angrily slaps away Minato's hand. "I don't get your palace or congetive or shadows or anything at all! I see people getting hurt in front of me by that Bastard! I had to save them. I can't let that bastard destroy another's life!"

"*Sigh* , which part of 'not real' you don't understand?" Minato said back before turning. "Okay then, Kurusu?"

"Huh?" Minato called the weirdly dressed young man who's just standing behind them.

"What do you want to do?"

"Me?" Akira looked surprised as Minato asked him the question. "I…." Akira takes a moment to decide. "I agrees with Sakamoto-san, I also want to save them."

"…Fine.…So, Morgana do you know where those voices are coming from?"

"Uh?", "Wha?" His two juniors seemed surprised that it only took that much to change his mind. 'I only needed Kurusu's answer though.'

"What, You guys are really going? Well, I can guide you there, but Really? Out of all of you, only frizzy can fight." Morgana said squinting his eyes.

"Fight?", "He's talking about monsters from yesterday.", "Oh, damn. I forgot about those.", "How could you forget about…never mind."

"Don't worry. Morgana-san can fight too. So we can both protect you guys." Akira said with a smug grin.

"Why do I have to fight for you guys?"

"Do I need to threaten you again?", "Okay, fine!" Morgana shouted before…"Hm, Maybe I can use these guys."

"What did you just say?", "Nothing, Come on, let's go!" Morgana said as he walked over to the place where they escaped from yesterday.

"What? We're not gonna enter from the this door?"

"Are you an idiot? Oh wait, you are an idiot. No, we're not gonna go in from the front door!"

"Yeah, Sakamoto-san. Of course we are not go in from the front door. That's like asking to be caught." Akira said walking past Ryuji who's looking at him weirdly.

"Vents again. I like that.", "Yeah, this is a must have path for an infiltration mission." Morgana said in a smug voice.

"Infiltration mission!? Cool! Oh, we should totally get a team name.", "Hey, I call dibs on being leader!", "Guys, what do you think about team name?"

Minato and Ryuji stared at the two idiots in front of them.

….

"Ohhhh, I'm regretting this already."

"…Well, you are the one who asked for it."

x-x

**After some time…**

"So, this is it." Ryuji said as they reached over a metal door.

"The screams are…Horrifying." Akira said uncomfortably.

"Damn, I'm almost scared to open it." Ryuji said wiping the sweats from his forehead. "Okay, I'm gonna have to prepare mys-*Clank*…"

"….", "…."

"What?"

"Damn it, Arisato! I'm still not ready yet.", "Senpai, You just took away the chance for my cool entrance!"

"It's just a door. Get over it." Minato said in a very annoyed voice. "Besides, all these pink around here is making my head hurt." With Morgana's guidance, they made it to the place called training room where the slaves were supposed to be held captive.

They got here with little to no trouble. The wildcard held himself well. His persona was faster than all the shadows here. And his dark elemental attack was pretty interesting, too. 'The only bad thing is he talks too much and gets excited easily.'

'And Sakamoto….', Minato looked the boy who's breathing loudly beside him.

….

"…Are you in labor?", "Shut the f*ck up, Arisato." He's fine. A little too loud to be his liking, but his model gun proved useful.

FYI, because the wildcard was being too trigger happy, he had to hold onto that. So, he's walking around with two guns but they don't need to know that. 'And I have to keep myself from shooting myself.…And let me tell you, it's hard.'

"Okay, Blondie. Do it quick. We don't have much time. Kamoshida must already know we're here.", 'Morgana, he's…well, I don't know what to think of him…yet.', Margaret said that she could not say in certainty until she sees for herself. 'Although she told me the possibilities…' which he didn't listen at all.

"Okay, Okay. I'm ready. Whewww. Let's do it." As they entered the hall the cherry atmosphere from before got turn upside down.

"The f*ck?", "Uhhh.", "…." In front of them was what could be described as living hell.

"The f*ck is this shit?! This is not training. This is just…Violence!" Ryuji shouted in anger.

Akira was too surprised to even utter a word. Kamoshida's soldiers were beating up students, making them play without breaks, basically abusing them and of course, torturing them. Well, they were a little more exaggerated here but…. The bad thing was he's seen some of the students from down there. 'That means she's also….'

Minato looked down the place. Although all of them are asking to stop, begging for mercy, their torturers didn't let up a moment.

….

Minato shook his head. 'No time for that.', "Morgana, tell them to hurry up."

"So, you felt it, too. Yeah, A lot of shadows are coming here. Hoi, Blondie! Hurry up! We've got no time."

"Damn it, I can't use the camera!" Ryuji cursed in anger.

"It doesn't matter. Nobody gonna take you seriously if you show them photos of Knights beating up students. Just try to memorize their faces."

"Senpai's right. We can search for the real ones tomorrow and ask them details. This…" Akira turned away from the sight. "This needs to be stopped."

"Yeah.…Yeah, thanks, Arisato."

"…Just hurry up." Minato once again looked down. 'I wonder who's the real monster…the one who hurt them…the one who ignored them.'

x-x

"Arsene!" Akira summoned his persona and shoots a dark energy ball towards the shadow that's following them…bit it's not enough to finish it off. "Damn it, it's still alive."

"Slowing them is enough. Run, Kurusu, don't look back."

"Huuh! Huhh!" The boy beside him is again panting loudly.

"I thought you were in the track team." They are running up a spiral stairs with them in the middle, Akira on the back and Morgana in front of them.

"Wha!? How do you know that!?"

"The teacher told me." Minato looked at the boy. "Is it because of your leg?"

"Mind your own business, Arisato!", "Sakamoto-san, look out!", "Wha!?" Ryuji looked behind to see a plant like monster aiming it's claw at him. "Ah, Shi-" But Minato shoved him beside and…*Bam*…*Bam, Bam!* , "Kreeee!" The shadow vanished with a cry.

"Uh, Senpai!"

"Ahhh, t-thanks, Ari-arisato.",

"*Sigh* , Next time, if you can't run, say it sooner." Minato pulled him up by collar. "He-hey, what are you do- Woahhh!" And dragged him like a sack. "Oof, oof, ahh, hey slow down!"

"Morgana, heal Kurusu with your spell."

"Wha-No, You got it, Dia!" Morgana without question, summoned his persona.

"Kurusu, use your strongest attack on the wall."

"Yes, Senpai. Arsene!" Akira ripped his mask off and the devilish persona appeared again. "Cleave!" *Boom!* The wall broke down barring the shadows from approaching them but flying ones easily got over it.

"Morgana."

"Nice, One eye. Zorro!" But Morgana's wind spells made short work of them.

"Woahhh!", "Don't stop.", "Sorry, Senpai."

"Damn, Arisato. Are you some kind of tactician?"

"No, I'm not. And don't use big words like that. It doesn't suit you."

"HEY- Oof!"

They kept running until they get to the top. 'They are not questioning me now because of being in danger but they are going to be pretty suspicious when this is all over.' But, he had no choice. Either summon floating blue cards or use the laser gun or just punch them with his bare hands…and none were viable options.

"We're here!" Morgana headbutted the door to open and they reached the hallway they first entered.

Morgana ran towards the door. "Crap! It's locked!" Morgana rammed the door to no avail. "I will try to pick i-"

"There's no time." MInato said as he let Ryuji down.

"We have no choice." Akira opened the door at the end of the hallway and they all ran through…But turned out it was a mistake.

"Ah, Shit.", "Damn it, this was a trap.", "…."

"So, it was you Knaves again. To think you would make the same mistake twice."

"Kamoshida!?" Ryuji stood up from the floor. They are now in a large hall with lavish carpets and decorations with a giant chandelier above them. 'Architecture aside, the point I'm trying to make is we're completely surrounded.'

"Kamoshida, You sick bastard!" Ryuji stepped forward with a grin although his legs were shaking a little. "Your days are numbered! I remembered all of their faces. Soon as I get out of here, You're finished!"

"Hey, one eye. Tell him to tone down the trash talk. We're completely outnumbered here.", "What makes you think that I can shut him up?"

"*Sigh*", Kamoshida sighed acting nonchalant. "It seems what they say is true, barking dogs seldom bite." Then his face turned furious, looking them with anger. "Guards! Get them!" As soon as he gave his orders, all the soldiers morphed into their shadows form.

"Wha *Fwoosh*" Minato ran towards the blonde boy and pulled him back before the shadows can cut him half. "Kurusu.", "Leave it to us." Akira also ran towards them and attacked the shadow before it could make it's second attack.

"You two, take over! This is going to get ugly!" At Morgana's advice Minato, pulling Ryuji, ran to the back where there's less shadows…or so he thought. *Bam*

The door opened and the shadows they left behind on the stairs, entered with vengeance.

"Oh, shit!", "Sakamoto, Get behind me." Minato took out the gun again.

"Senpai! Sakmoto-san!", "Focus on your own battle!", "Die, Intrude-*Bam!*" Minato shot the Pyro jack in the mouth before it can finish whatever it's shouting. "Sakamoto, get the door.", "What?", "Get the door!"

Ryuji scrambled on the floor and ran towards the door.

"Oh, running away again?" Ryuji stopped as he heard Kamoshida's voice.

"Sakamo-Tch." Minato rolled to the side as berith brought down his spear on him.

"Oh, how far the star runner of track team is fallen."

"What did you say, you bastard!?"

"Because of your selfish acts, Shujin's prized track team has to disbanded. How sad." Kamoshida mocked with a sick grin.

"Sh-shut up, you son of a bitch!"

"Huh, You ungrateful piece of trash. Have you forgotten my kindness in supervising the track practice?"

"It was no practice! It was physical abuse! You just don't like our team!" Ryuji shouted angrily.

But, Kamoshida's grin didn't faded, even growing wider. "To be fair," Kamoshida looked at him with smug face. "I just don't like you."

"Huh?", "For King Kamoshida!", "Wha-", "*Bam!* Ryuji turned to the voice to see Minato coming near him.

"Tch! That blue haired brat."

"Ar-arisato, Sor-", "What do you think you're doing? You're too old to get emotional over this!", "Umm."

"Hahhahah, Sakamoto, how low can you sink?" Kamoshida's laugh echoed throughout the hall. "Even to a transfer student, you couldn't say back anything. You only can just suck it like a piece of trash you are."

"D-damn it."

"*Bam!*", 'What should I do? If this keeps up, the wildcard will get killed.', "*Bam, Bam, Clank, clank*''

"What?" *Clank, Clank* "Morgana, I'm out of bullets."

"What? Ahh! *Sching* , What!?"

"I'm out of bullets!"

"What do you want me t- Ahhhhh!" Morgana got hit by an attack and rolled down on the floor.

"Morgana-sa-", "Kreee!", "Um, Ahhh!" Akira got blown away as he got hit by an block of ice. "Owwww, God, that hurts."

"Kurusu!" Minato tried to run toward him but he realized that if he left, Ryuji's gonna get killed. 'Damn it. Do I have any choice?'

"Hahaha, Sakamoto, watch! Hahh!" Kamoshida said as he kicked Morgana away. "Watch in silence while your friends got slaughtered! Haha!"

"H-hey, stop that!" Ryuji tried to run over to him as Minato stopped him again. "Get back. *Clang!* " Minato blocked the overhead strike with the gun on his hand.

But, of course, it won't be long before the berith's spear completely broke the gun. 'I hope I can pass this off as being athletic.' Minato leaned to the side a little, making the attack missed him and hit the ground. Then he jumped up and rolled in the midair, kicking the shadow's hand. "Huhhh."

The shadow's grip loosened and Minato pulled the spear and *Swoosh!* "GAHHHHHH!" The shadow vanished into black ichor and with it, the spear in his hand vanished, too.

"Wheww." , "Woah, dude, you al-", "Ahhhh…." Minato slumped down to the floor, holding his head, from which the bandages started to turn a little red. "Arisato!" , 'Ahhhh, I spinned a little too much there,…Damn it, Caroline.'

"Arisato!", Ryuji ran towards him, shouting his name.

"Sakamoto, stay back. You can't do anything here!"

"Um!"

MInato stood back up wobbly. "Just try to run. You are practically useless here."

"Yeah, haha. Listen to your wise Senpai. Cause he's not gonna be giving any more advice soon." Kamoshida said looking at the blue haired boy. While Ryuji stuck in the middle of whether to run for his life or not. "*Sigh* , Just admit it, Sakamoto. You're useless wherever you are."

'Does this guy knows how to shut up?', MInato thhought of ways get out of this. 'Which is more strange, healing your head or turning your hair white…Tch, No choice, the wildcard takes priority.', **_"Messi-",_** "No, I'm not useless!", "Hm?" Minato turned around.

"What did you just say, Huh."

"Damn it, I'M not gonna lose again!" RYuji gritted out, as if in pain holding his head.

"Oh, still denying?" Minato walked back away a little.

"No, Huuh, huuh, I'm not useless. I have enough this shit!"

"Hah! Just stay in the mud where you belong." , 'Yeah, yeah, Kamoshida. Keep going. You're doing great.'

"Because of you, I can't run anymore and the track team's gone too. I'm sick of being powerless!" Ryuji punched the floor. "I'm sick of being pushed around!" He kept punching the ground that his knuckles started bleeding. "Because of you…YOU!" Not just Minato, even the shadows backed away as a sudden pressure filled the air.

"I'M SICK OF YOUR DAMN FACE, KAMOSHIDA!" *Foom!* A heavy gust of wind blew through the place. The wind was so strong that even Minato had to cover his face.

As the wind settled, the sight was a blonde boy whose face is now obscured by a mask of bone with glowing yellow eyes.

"Wha, what!? Him too!?"

"Arrgh, arrgh, Rarrrrrgh!" Ryuji pulled off the mask with blood sprouting forth like a fountain making a blue aura flared around him as his clothes changed. And Inside, a skeleton being with a ship materialized.

 ** _"Yes, Embraced you true self and show them what true hell looks like."_** A voice echoed throughout the place.

"Kamoshida!"

"Eiee!" Ryuji pointed the iron pipe in his hand towards the man with a grin on his face.

"You asked for a beating." Akira and Morgana got up from the floor. "Is that a persona too?", "Great, now we can fight back." Minato walked to the nearby pillar and leaned on it, watching the scene with a smirk. "Well, we're gonna give you a beating of your life!"

'…Well, well, it looks like even the universe is working at my side…

….

Oh, wait….'

"Bring it On!" Akira and Morgana walked over to his side. "Captainnn KIDD!"

-x-x-


	16. Death is no Judge: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I caught up.

**A Calm before the storm**

"…*Crunch* , Aeeergh, Oh my god, this is disgusting." Ann putsthe carrot sandwich down on the desk. 'I had to eat this everyday?' Then she stared at the offending thing on the desk. 'Nuts to that, I'm not eating it. My skin is beautiful enough as it is.'

"*Huff, Huff*", "Hm?" Ann looked at the voice to see her friend standing in front of her. "Oh, Shiho."

"*Huff* , Sorry I'm late." Shiho said sitting down beside her.

"It's okay. I'm just here early." Ann said looking at the girl. "So, what's up?" Shiho caught her breath for a moment before turning back to her with a smile. "Oh, what a smile. Did something good happen?"

"Yes, yes. Something definitely good happened today." Shiho said with a bright smile. "You will never guess what happe-", "Your senpai finally notice you?"

….

"…Uh?" Shiho looked at her with mouth hanging before she burst out laughing making the girl turned beet red.

"Hahahaha, Ohhhh. You're so easy to read."

"I'm not easy to read." Shiho said pouting back. "Besides, how do you even know this?"

"Ahe, heh, I mean," Ann contained her laughter. "For the past week, the only thing you've been saying is 'Arisato-senpai is so cool. Arisato-senpai is so cool. Arisato-senpai is so cool. Arisato-senpai is so cool. Arisato-senp-"

"Okay, I get it. I get it. You can stop now." Shiho said quickly stopping before she can announced it to the whole world,

"Hehe, Sorry. So, what happened? Did he propose to you?"

"Ann!", "Aww, you're too cute to resist." Ann said turning to her with a grin. Then she started pulling on the poor girl's cheeks. "Look at this cute face! Smoosh. Smoosh."

"Ow, Owwoww. Ann! Ow, please stop, that hurts."

"Oops, S-sorry." Ann pulled her hands back as the girl messaged her red cheeks. And she noticed something strange. "Shiho, Did you get hurt again?"

"…Y-yeah." Shiho said touching the bruise on her forehead. "I didn't see the ball coming until it hit me right in the face." Shiho said back with a sad smile. "Sometimes I wonder if I even should be on the team."

"Oh, come on." Ann said putting her hands on the girl's shoulders. "That was just a one time mistake. You were good at volleyball ever since middle school. You shouldn't let one mistake holds you back."

"Yeah, but…"

"Sure, the training's tough but you can keep it up, right?"

"Y-yeah." Shiho said looking away.

'Oh my god. It's not working.' Shiho got sad and weird everytime they talked about her volleyball team. And everytime she tried to cheer her back and it never worked. 'But, not this time! This time, I got a secret weapon.', "Shiho, forget about all of that for a moment. Just tell me about your beloved senpai."

"Oh-OH!" Shiho's face brightened back. Although that sadness in her eyes didn't vanish. 'But, at least, that's a start.'

"Right, right. I almost forget about that."

"No. Shiho forgetting about her senpai! Is the world ending!?"

"Ann!"

"Sorry, sorry, Go on.", 'Maybe I should go and thank him back…Hmm, I can use my umbrella as an excuse.'

x-x

**Palace of Lust**

"Hah!" Ryuji swung the pipe in his hand at the red thing on horse that kept running away and dodging his attacks. "Damn it!"

"Anyone who defies King Kamoshida will be executed!"

"Oh, Shut Up." Ryuji blocked the attack with his weapon and jumped to the back. "The only title that guy should have is King Of Assholes."

"You dare ins-"

"Do it fast, Sakamoto. My head is literally killing me."

"Can't you see I'm doing it!?"

"-t the kin-"

"You mean doing it like an muscle brained idiot? You have only hit him once."

"TWICE!"

"The second attack didn't count. Your spit hit him."

"Is that what you say to someone who's risking his life to save you!?"

"Then, I'm gonna ask you the same question."

"You are not risking a Damn thing, Arisato!"

"Well, I'm risking my sanity by TALKING to you."

The boy who had a wound on his head and the boy whose mother probably had a wound on her head before giving birth to him, bickered back and back at each other, completely ignoring the shadow.

"For God's sake, What the hell are you two idiots arguing for!?" Morgana shouted in the middle of his fight.

"He started it." Ryuji said pointing like a child at the blue haired boy who's leaning at a pillar, holding his head.

"Well, I'm ending it!" Morgana shouted, stomping on the ground.

"Too slow!" Beside them, Akira dodged around the attacks running nearly everywhere before he jumped towards the enemy and slashed his dagger down.

"See, Kurusu can hit enemy. Why are you always missing?"

"Because That Bastard Keeps Dodging!"

"Sakamoto-san, Don't just use physical attacks. Use Uhhhh, Magic too." Akira said fighting another shadow.

"Magic?"

"He meant Spells, Dumbass." Morgana answered back, summoning a persona and using a wind spell on the group of shadows.

"Oh, Right!" Ryuji shouted with a grin before turning back to Eligor who's waiting patiently for him. "Well, Asshole, it's time for round two and this time, you're f*cking dy-"

"Language."

"Damn it!"

x-x

"Senpai, Can you stand?" Akira asked to the boy.

"…You do know that I'm standing, right?"

"Oh."

"The correct question is 'Can you walk?',"

"Oh."

"Hnngh, Hnnghhhh, Hey, Monamona, heal me again." Ryuji said panting loudly in front of them.

"No, that spell doesn't heal your fatigue. It only heals your wounds."

After Ryuji knew that he can use spells, the battle become surprisingly easy because every one of the shadows was weak to his elec spell. Although because he used a little too much, he seemed to be having a little trouble for even standing up straight.

'But, we have destroyed all of them so, it doesn't matter though.'

"Tch, I will admit that you guys are at least tenacious."

'Well, not exactly all of them.' Akira and the others turned to the voice from upstairs.

"Big talk coming from a man who ran like a dog as soon as the fight's started!" Ryuji spat out with a loud voice.

"You think you can still escape here alive after insulting me and killing my guards?"

"Joke's on you because we already did it once." Akira said with a smug grin.

"Make it twice because we gonna have to escape again."

"What, why?" Ryuji turned around to Minato with disbelief. "That bastard's right up there!" Ryuji shouted pointing to the man with a sick grin.

"And we are right down here, what's your point?"

"I-I mean, we can just beat him up an-"

"No. One eye's right. All three of us are in no condition to fight anymore and he will die if he don't treat that wound." Morgana said in a serious tone.

"B-but…."

"No buts, Sakamoto. We have to escape first."

"Tch, Damn it!" Ryuji said to himself looking at his past coach who's looking down at them.

"HEH, Good to know that the transfer student still got his head." Kamoshida said, looking at the group. "But, I had to ask why did you even come here in the first place? What, You think it would be exciting?"

"Yeah, no. That's not gonna work on me." Minato said as he stopped leaning and prepared to get out from the place.

"No, No. I mean you must have a reason. It's probably not for the thrills. You don't look like the type. It's probably for someone, isn't that right?"

Minato didn't stop walking, completely ignoring the man, as Akira and the others followed him watching every corners.

"Could it be that you are trying to do all of this for our little miss Suzui?"

Minato stopped walking.

"Senpai…."

"Hey, One eye, Don't stop. The backups are coming. Hey, One eye!"

Minato didn't move an inch.

"Hah! You probably think you can help her. But, Here's something for you. The girl doesn't want to get help!"

"Senpai!" Akira walked over to the boy but Ryuji stopped him. "Sakamoto-san?"

"She can leave any time she want. But she didn't. Do you know why? The girl practically lives for Me. Her life's mine. She's MINE! And you, you are just some snot nosed brat, who thinks he can save someone, who thinks he can be a knight in a shining armor for someone. You ar-"

"Ahahaha."

"Um.", "What?", 'Did he just laugh?' He couldn't see his face because of his hair, but that was a definitely a laugh.

"…*Sigh*" Minato turned his head towards the man. "Knight in a shining armor? Tell me, exactly what do you see when you look at me?" Minato said fully turning around.

"What?"

"My armor is all rusted up. The shine's long gone. The scars will never heal and never be whole again.

…*Sigh* , I'm sorry but the princess better find a new knight to save her." Minato said, shrugging back.

"The hell are you tal-"

"But, Luckily…" Minato said walking backwards. "…We have two gallant knights right here."

"Huh?", "Wha?"

"Heh." *Bam* the doors, basically all of them, opened at the same time and many shadows came flooding out. "Kurusu, Run."

"Huh!?" Minato said as he ran past them. "Huh?", "What?"

"Uhhh, *Shake* Don't just stand there you two, Follow us." Morgana recovered fast and shouted towards them who's still trying to make sense of what Minato said.

And Finally they recovered and madly ran from the shadows following the two. "The heck!?", "Ahhhh." Akira ducked a stray fire ball.

And Kamoshida recovered last and he first looked around the place before, "Wha-what!? Guards! Capture them! CAPTURE THEM!"

"Hey, One eye! I know you can somehow sense the shadows but that's still cutting too close!"

"Sorry."

"Say it like you mean it!".

"…."

"SAY IT!" *Bam*

Minato opened the door and Akira and Ryuji got out, "Damn, That was scary!" Ryuji said as he closed the door fast.

"Okay, Okay. We can get out from just here, right?"

"I guess."

"Okay. Morgana-san, are you coming?"

"No, I still have things to here. But, you guys are coming back, right?"

"Why would we come to this shithole again?" Ryuji said running up to them. "We've got enough proof. We don't need to come here again."

"What? What do you mean? You guys aren't gonna help me back!?…After all I did for you guys!?"

"You know what, Morgana. Let's discuss it another time. We need to get out of here first." Minato said pointing at his head.

"Another time? You guys just said you won't be coming back here again."

"Maybe we will come back here again. Who knows.…I don't. So, not my problem. Bye." Minato said running out first.

"Stay alive, Monamona!", "Ahhh, Ahem, may we meet again, Mor-", "Kurusu!", "Sorry, I'm coming!"

"What? Don't just leave me here! Give me a straight answer! Hey! HEY! HEEEYYYY!"

x-x

"Ahhhh." Minato leaned on the wall as soon as they reach the real world. "How do I explain this to my doctor?"

Ryuji held him back before he could fall down towards the ground, as Akira watched him worriedly. They are no longer in those strange suits and now just in their school uniforms. "Dude, You okay?"

"Not since the day I was born."

"…Okay, Kurusu. You can stop worrying. He's fine if he can say that much.", "Aheheh."

"…But that was the truth though." Minato said back as he tried to stand straight. "I have an appointment. I'm gonna be going back.…So, see you." Minato said as he walked past them before Ryuji pulled him back.

"Hey, hey, hey, what? You gonna go alone in that state?"

"What are you, my fathe-No,…No, No,…What are you, my uncle?"

His two juniors stared at him weirdly.

"…Okay, I'm gonna stop making sense of what you're saying." Ryuji whined scratching his head. "Where do you live, Arisato?"

"That's none of your bu-", "Senpai is in Yongen-jaya, same as me.", 'Ah, Crap.'

"Ohh." Ryuji took out his phone and watched the time. "It's still early. So, come on, your two Kouhais will escort you home!" Ryuji said with a grin and Akira also followed suit, grinning back. Although said senpai is not enthusiastic that much.

"…don't say escort."

"That's the least I could do for you. Come on, It would be bad if you die in the streets after we saved you from those damn monsters." Ryuji said walking over to him and helping him up.

"Here, I will help you too." Kurusu said also helping him up.

And with that, The trio walked over to the station narrowly escaping from death, with smiles and sighs.

….

"Hey, wait, Stop. I still have to go to the doctor."

"Oh, Okay. Then, senpai, should we take a cab?"

"Man, I can't afford it. Arisato, where is your doctor? Shibuya?"

"…No, she's also in Yongen-Jaya."

"Then why the hell did you tell us to stop!?"

x-x

**After some time…**

"*Bam* Come on, eat up, My treat."

Akira watched the beef bowl in front of him then turned to the blonde boy beside him. "Are you sure? I thought you can't afford it. I can pa-"

"Nooo. I said I couldn't afford a cab. I can at least pay for two beef bowls. Now, Dig in. It's gonna get cold."

"T-thanks. Sakamoto-san." The three of them took the train together and for some reasons, Minato whined the whole way. His literal words were 'I don't want to go home. I have enough headache with you two. And this literal headache. The idiots in my home are way worse than you two. I really want to be anywhere but there.' They are not sure what he meant by 'Idiots in my home' But they never asked that. After they reached the Clinic which is surprisingly close to the Leblanc Cafe, Minato shooed them away, and he would not take 'no' for an answer.

And after that, Ryuji took him to a shop nearby and now they are here. 'I hope Sakura-san isn't angry.'

"Hey, Kurusu, Are we sure we should leave him alone there?"

"Hm, What do you mean?"

"I mean," Ryuji turned towards him, "That place looks more like a human trafficking ring than a clinic."

"Ummmm, That place looks weird but Uhh, there's a sign, right? Besides, Maybe, Arisato-senpai doesn't want to spend too much money."

"His parents doesn't give him money?"

"Uhhh, I'm not sure. He never told any of his private life. The only thing we can be sure is he supposedly lives with idiots."

"Yeah, that was an awkward 15 minutes." Ryuji said eating the food. "Speaking about private life, " Then he turned towards him. "What's the deal with your probation?"

"Uh?" Akira looked up the boy with wide eyes.

"I mean, there's a lot of rumors but after being with you…Uhhhh, I don't think you are the type. I mean, Arisato looks more like a delinquent than you."

"Senpai is?"

"Well, not physically but did you see the thing he did on that castle? I'm almost positive that he's a ninja or Some kind Of Government Agent!"

"Uhh, Ahahaha, I Uhh, don't think he is an agent."

"Yeahhh but well, It doesn't matter." Ryuji said putting his bowl down. "At first I don't trust him, but now…I still don't trust him but I don't think he's a bad guy. And he may have said all those nonsense but I think he really came with us for Suzui." Ryuji said looking him in the eye. "And Kurusu, I want to think that about you too. So, can you tell me about your thing?…Even if I'm overstepping some boundaries."

"No, It's fine. It's fine." Akira and Ryuji looked at each other without saying anything for sometimes. "Okay, then. But, I don't think it's a good story or something." Akira turned away from the boy as he waited patiently.

….

"That night…

x-x

…*Stare* …

"…."

… *Stare*…

"…. Ummm, *Gulp* , Umm, Ahem-Ah!" Minato held his head in pain. "Ahhh, Ummm, Don't you think this is a little too tight?"

"Maybe."

"Then maybe you should…you know…"

"I should what?" The creature before him stared at him innocently(Not really).

"I mean you should…never mind." Minato got down from the bed. "It's done, right? I'll be go-", "No, No, we're not done yet." Minato rolled his eyes in response. "What?"

"First, sits back down.", "Oh god." Minato sat upon the patient's bed again. "*Sigh*"

"…."

"…?"

"…."

"Are we waiting for someth-", "Didn't I tell you not to go to school yesterday?"

"Yes, I didn't."

"Oh, Really? Then why are you wearing your school uniform?"

"*Blink, Blink* " Minato looked over himself. "Ah, Crap."

"Okay." Takemi stands up from her chair and walks up to him. "Do you think I'm joking around? It's on your head. Get It? It's a head wound!" Takemi said standing directly in front of him and pointing at his head. "Please, personal spa-", "There are many things that could have gone wrong! Not to say what could happen down the line. You could even just went of and die!" Takemi said with what can be called anger or frustration in her voice.

"…I know. But I had to go today because-"

"Because!?"

"Beeecause,…It's cleaning day today."

….

"Really, you expect me to believe that?"

"I didn't expect but I sure hope you do."

"*Sigh* , This is why I hate kids." Takemi walked back to her chair. "The wound's healing fine. The bleeding is because you move around too much. Otherwise, everything's fine. You know what, I would even say that it's healing a little too fast."

"Ack?"

"What?" Takemi turned around.

"I mean, Ahem. It's great then. If It's healing fast it's great."

"Yeahh, It's great." Takemi turned away for him and thought to herself. "It's great…So, what did you eat today?"

"…I've bought a sandwich and a can of coffee."

"Hmm, that's still not much but It's an improvement, I guess. Try to eat more next time though," Takemi looked at the note board on her hand before nodding. "Well, that's all." Takemi stood up from her chair and Minato also followed suit. "I hope you're drinking everything. Exactly as I said?"

"Yes, after the meal. Before sleep. After waking up. After lunch. And before I came here."

"…." Takemi stared at him weirdly. "…I don't actually remember, so good job." Takemi said with a grin before opening the door. "*Clank* , So, who's the lucky girl?"

"What?"

"Didn't you go to school to have your girlfriend take care of you?"

"I told you, it was cleaning day. I don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh, you think I'm stupid?", "Yes.", "You're saying you don't have a girlfriend with that face?"

"I've been hearing that a lot. What does my face have to do with this or just anything?"

"Awww, everything that's happening now is because of your face, Minato-kun."

….

"…What?" Minato stood there without moving as Takemi went behind the counter. "Umm. *Shake* 'Arisato' , please."

"All right, Mina-kun." Takemi shouted from behind the counter as Minato stood there awkwardly.

….

Minato looked at the mirror on the wall.

'Covering two third of your face isn't enough?'

x-x

**The Next Day…**

"Okay, Everyone please get to the gym room quietly and orderly as possible."

'Finally.' Akira stood up from his desk. Today's the volleyball rally. And Possibly the best time for them to search for the ones who Kamoshida's Abusing. 'My first mission.' Him, Ryuji and Minato are going to meet up at the rally and then they are going to search for the students.

Akira walked out of the classroom. 'Ryuji gonna try to find them one by one and then they are gonna divide and conquer. And senpai is…he is…' He's not sure if he even remembered this because remember, he complained the whole way while Ryuji's saying this.

"Oh, Kurusu-kun."

"Hm?" Akira turned to his teacher. "Yes, Kawakmi-sensei?"

"You only have one gym suit so, don't try to get it dirty."

"Huh?", 'Huh?', "Why?"

"Your spare one was given to Arisato. And he didn't give it back yet."

"Senpai?"

"So, go and ask it back by yourself. You two are close, right? Chuuno said that you went to his class yesterday."

"O-oh, yeah. Th-thank you for reminding me. But, Uhhh, why did he take my spare suit?"

"Ask him by yourself. I don't have time to explain it to you."

"Oh?" After that, the teacher also walked out of the classroom.

"Oh, wait. Takamaki-san?" Kawakmi called out to the girl who's just walking past them.

"Yes, Sensei?"

"Make sure transfer student go straight only to the gym."

"Uh, what about you, sensei?"

"…I still have something to do. So, I leave him to you, Takamaki-san." The teacher said in an annoying cherry voice and left the scene.

….

Neither of them said anything. 'This is kinda awkward.', "G-good morning, Takmak-"

"You know Arisato?"

"Huh? Uhhhh, Y-yeah."

"Huuhhh, so, the two transfer students are already friends." The girl thought to herself for a moment. "How did you two know? You've only got here just days ago."

"O-oh, It's a long story. Ahaha." Akira said with a forced smile. 'I don't know how to explain that.', "Yo-Uhh, you know him too, Takamaki-san?"

"Aheh, It's also a long story…short, he broke my umbrella." The girl said before laughing out loud.

"Ummmm." Akira waited uncomfortably as the girl kept laughing. "Ummm, Aheh, I-I'm sorry. I don't get it."

"Don't worry. I will make sure you get it."

x-x

"Alright, you guys already know about the volleyball rally today, right?"

"Yesss.", "…."

"Honestly, I think we should spend that time on quizzes or something but, If Kamoshida-sensei thinks it's best, it's probably the best."

"…."

"Besides, I'm sure you guys are bored from just studying, right?"

"…."

"Well, be sure to thank Kamoshida-sensei for bailing you guys out from these boring lectures, Hey, Arisato!" The teacher suddenly threw the chalk on his hand towards the boy sleeping on his desk.

…Who caught the chalk with two fingers and threw it back directly to the basket beside the teacher's desk, without even moving up his head from the desk.

Everyone's not sure whether to look at their surprisingly more angry than usual history teacher or the blatantly sleeping boy or the chalk sitting with it's friends.

Then, suddenly the boy said in a tiny voice but, because the whole room is quiet they could hear it all.

"Is it lunch break yet?"

"Umm, uhhh, No, it's not, Arisato-san, But, please wake up. The class's not over yet." Haru said in a equally tiny voice but she's not fooling anyone.

"Okumura-san, I told you to only wake me up at lunch break."

"N-no, ye-yeah. I know that. But, the teacher's looking at you. Actually, everyone's looking at you. So, please wake up!" Haru said her face turning alarmingly red.

"…."

"Arisato-san!"

"…."

"…Did you already fall asleep?" *Snap!* Then suddenly a loud breaking noise was heard and everyone turned to the source of voice (Who they are going to withhold from enclosing their name), who was glaring at the sleeping boy with a half broken pencil in her…(Damn it)or his hand.

x-x

"N-no way, he did that?"

"I know. He's so weird, Isn't he?" Ann said laughing. "Oh, but Don't go tell him that. I don't want him to hate me before we've even introduced ourselves."

"O-oh, Takamaki-san, you don't have to worry about that. I think Senpai has already accepted the fact that he's weird."

"As he should have. Ahahaha." Saying that both of them laughed together, before someone interrupted them.

"Kurusu, you're her-Uh, Takamaki?"

Both the boy and the girl turned towards the voice to see Ryuji standing in front of them.

"Sakamoto?" The girl also said with a little wide eyes.

"Wait.", "Wait.", "Wait."

"You two know each other?", "You two know each other?", "You two know each other?"

….

'What The Hell was that?'

"Oh, uhhh, of course we two know each other. We're in the same class."

"Yeah, you don't even know two people of your class."

The girl made a sour face, looking at the blond boy. "Still the same idiot, Huh, Good to know." Ann said sighing to herself. "Well, My job here's done. So," The girl said turning around but before she left, she looked at him and, "Oh, Good bye, Kurusu-kun." The girl said waving to him with a smile.

"O-oh, T-t-thank you, Ta-takmaki-san." With that the girl left for her…'Probably changing room.' Akira jerked towards Ryuji with a dumb smile. "She's so nice! Isn't she?"

But, the boy stared at him weirdly. "Yeah, Careful around her. She's a devy little minx." Ryuji also walked up to the changing room.

Akira ran up to him. "Why would you say that? She looks so nice."

"Yeah, No. Don't trust her baby's face. That girl is a fox, I tell you. She hadn't given me back the 500 yen she owes me."

Akira thought to himself. "If it just 500 yen, I can give it ba-", "Oh my god, You are already wrapped around her little finger!"

x-x

**After 30 minutes or so…**

"*Yawn* , This is so boring." Ryuji whined loudly to the boy beside him.

"Maybe it's because we're just sitting here, not doing anything."

"Yeahhhh, *Yawn* " They are just watching Kamoshida played and won literally every matches.

"Honestly, what's the point of this?" Akira said in a lethargic tone. "He's just bragging off the fact that a olympics player can beat high school students in training. Is that really a thing to be bragging about?"

"Yeahhhh." Ryuji answered back in an equally energetic voice. "I heard that he's the one who ask for this. So, he's probably just finding everything he can to stroke his oversized ego."

"Why did everyone just accept this?"

"Oh, Kamoshida-sensei's so cool.", "He's really is very talented.", "We are really lucky to have him at our school.", "After this, I'm going to ask him for his autograph."

"There's your answer." *Sigh* Both Ryuji and Akira sighed together. "I can't wait to see all of their face when the truth gets out."

"Yeahhhh, the truth, the jolly old truth."

"Don't worry. We will make sure it won't happen like you."

"Thank you." Akira pushed up his glass and turned to the side. "For reminding me that."

"Sorry, Bud."

…*Creakk* They then turned towards the noise to see their familiar friend pushing the cart filled with balls.

"Senpai?"

"Hm?" The boy stopped the cart and turned to look at them. "Oh, you two. What are you guys sitti-…why do you two look more dead than me?"

"Ahhhrgh." Ryuji said ruffling his hair. "We have to watch that jerk humiliated his own students publicly for nearly an hour. Of course, we look like shit."

Minato turned around and looked at Kamoshida deliberately hurting his own team and trying to act like he's worried about them.

"Oof!" Suddenly Kamosida spiked the ball towards a boy with many bruises, making the boy fell backwards.

"Oh my god." Suddenly there's a lot of murmurs and Kamoshida ran towards the kid acting like he didn't do it on purpose. "Hey, Mishima, you alright? Someboy take to him to nurse office!" Kamoshida shouted loudly towards the crowd holding the boy.

….

"…Well, I have to take two of this carts left and right, and have to set up all of this and it's stupid, tiring, bothersome and most of all stupid but you don't see me complaining here.", "You just complained.", "Shut up, Kurusu."

"What do you mean you set this up?" Ryuji said standing up from the floor and dusting himself. "You helping around the student council?"

"Not willingly."

"Then, why are you doing this, senpai?" Akira also stood up.

"Well," Minato turned away from the hurt to watch and hurt to stomach match and looked at them. "Niijima made me go through all of this and had me help in all of the preparations Because apparently I was being 'RiDiCulous' for some reasons."

"Niijima? Who's tha-", "Miss Prez? And you just accept that lying down, you don't argue her back?" Ryuji asked the boy.

"Well, I try to but I just woke up so…I'm…my mind not exactly…well, you know." Minato shrugged back.

….

Akira and Ryuji stared at their very responsible upperclassman.

"To tell the truth, I didn't hear half the things she said. I just know that there's a lot of yelling."

"…."

"But, Forget about that. Did you guys finish asking around?" Minato asked putting the brake on the cart.

"Oh, We have not even started yet."

"Whhhaatttt?" Minato whined leaning on the wall. "You guys are lazing around while I'm being slaved away?"

"You were being slaved away because you were lazing around first."

"…Fair enough. So, what are you guys doing? Waiting for me?"

"That too but we were waiting for self training time so we can sneak out." Akira said looking at the clock.

"But, everyone gonna gets out at that time so, we don't actually have to sneak around." Ryuji said sitting back down.

Akira also sat back down. "So, Sakamoto-san, did you identify all of the ones at the castle?"

"Well, no. But, I'm sure I remembered them all. They are…uhhh, mostly black haired and medium height."

Minato stared at the blond boy. "You just defined more than half of Japan's population."

"I will remember when I see them, Okay!?"

"Wait, that's it?" Minato stopped leaning and stands straight. "That's your big idea? Walk around and hope that you recognized someone?"

"No! We gonna first go after someone I'm sure I knew of and…" Ryuji looked away. "…Hope that we met some of them on the way."

Akira and Minato looked at the blond boy who's apparently being fascinated by the wall.

"…*Sigh*" Minato leaned back on the wall.

….

"I hate you two."

"Sorry, senpai.", "Yeah, Sorry about that."

-x-x-


End file.
